{"id":2011,"date":"2026-08-17T13:10:38","date_gmt":"2026-08-17T05:10:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mktynews.com\/?p=2011"},"modified":"2026-08-17T13:10:40","modified_gmt":"2026-08-17T05:10:40","slug":"arteta-laments-martinelli-and-gabriel-jesus-absences-it-is-really-sad-they-deserve-to-be-in-the-squad","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mktynews.com\/index.php\/2026\/08\/17\/arteta-laments-martinelli-and-gabriel-jesus-absences-it-is-really-sad-they-deserve-to-be-in-the-squad\/","title":{"rendered":"Arteta laments Martinelli and Gabriel Jesus absences: &#8220;It is really sad, they deserve to be in the squad&#8221;"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1000\" height=\"563\" src=\"https:\/\/mktynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/image-23.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2012\" srcset=\"https:\/\/mktynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/image-23.png 1000w, https:\/\/mktynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/image-23-300x169.png 300w, https:\/\/mktynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/image-23-768x432.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The Arsenal boss hailed his side&#8217;s Community Shield triumph, discussed defensive targets, and addressed rumors surrounding key absentees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Manager Mikel Arteta was full of praise for his side after Arsenal secured a dominant 3-0 victory over Manchester City to lift the Community Shield. Reflecting on the Gunners&#8217; preparations for the upcoming campaign, the Spaniard expressed his delight at the clinical display. &#8220;I am obviously extremely happy with the performance, the result, and winning the first trophy. We talked about the desire we have to start the season well and show how much we want this. I certainly saw a lot of positive things against a top-tier opponent,&#8221; he told reporters during his post-match press conference.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Arteta credited the result to the rigorous work put in during pre-season and the squad&#8217;s mentality following the World Cup. &#8220;I am very impressed by the way we played, especially the way we competed. That is our standard, and if we maintain this level, I am sure we will be truly competitive,&#8221; he noted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Turning his attention to the transfer market, the boss confirmed that Arsenal remain active in their pursuit of defensive reinforcements before the Premier League curtain-raiser. &#8220;We are trying to do that; we have been trying for weeks,&#8221; he admitted. The search has intensified due to William Saliba being unavailable, with the likes of Jarrel Quansah and Ezri Konsa touted as potential targets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There was also a standout debut for Christos Tzolis, who provided two assists to earn high praise from his manager. However, much of the post-match talk centered on the absence of Martinelli, Gabriel Jesus, and Ethan Nwaneri. Arteta was quick to dismiss suggestions that the trio were nearing the exit door after they were left out of the matchday squad. &#8220;It is really sad&#8230; They deserve to be in the squad,&#8221; he insisted, quashing rumors that their omission was transfer-related. Despite the manager&#8217;s reassurance, Martinelli continues to be linked with a move to Turkey, while Gabriel Jesus has been the subject of reported interest from Napoli.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Arsenal boss hailed his side&#8217;s Community Shield triumph, discussed defensive targets, and addressed rumors surrounding key absentees.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2012,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2011","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mktynews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2011","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mktynews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mktynews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mktynews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mktynews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2011"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/mktynews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2011\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2013,"href":"https:\/\/mktynews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2011\/revisions\/2013"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mktynews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2012"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mktynews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2011"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mktynews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2011"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mktynews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2011"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}