Why Arsenal were without seven players for friendly amid Martinelli issue| SolSportHQ

Arsenal named their matchday squad to face FC Nurnberg in a pre-season friendly on Thursday evening but were without seven players that travelled to the training camp

Arsenal are without a total of seven players for their pre-season friendly against FC Nurnberg.

Mikel Arteta’s side are out in Germany and have been putting in the hard yards as the team gears up for the new season. The Gunners warmed up with a behind-closed-doors match against Watford before heading out to their training camp at Adidas HQ , with Marquinhos getting on the scoresheet in a 1-1 draw.

The game against FC Nurnberg saw Arsenal step up their pre-season preparations, with three games still to come this month as part of the club’s USA tour. William Saliba has returned to the starting XI while new signing Kai Havertz was named on the bench, but there were also a few notable absentees.

Gabriel Martinelli was not involved as he continues to recover from the ankle injury he picked up against Brighton in May. Versatile defender Takehiro Tomiyasu also remains on the sidelines following the knee injury he sustained against Sporting in March.

Mohamed Elneny’s return to London Colney for pre-season training looked to have given the club a boost but he continues to work towards full fitness. Elsewhere, Oleksandr Zinchenko was also not involved as he recovers from the calf muscle that saw him miss the final few weeks of last season.

Meanwhile, Rob Holding and goalkeeper Alex Runarsson have both travelled with the squad but are not involved in the matchday setup.

And Martin Odegaard was unfortunately pulled out of the starting lineup at late notice after picking up a knock in the warm-up ahead of the game.

After taking on FC Nurnberg, Arsenal will jet out to the US, where their first task will be to take on an MLS All Stars XI in Washington on July 20. This will be followed by a game against Manchester United in New York (July 22) before heading to LA to face Barcelona (July 27). Pre-season will conclude in a home game against Monaco (August 2) before competing for the Community Shield with Manchester City (August 6).

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