Gabriel Martinelli and Pablo Mari came through successful procedures on their injuries this week, according to Arsenal’s latest team news update.

Arsenal's Spanish defender Pablo Mari (C) sits on the pitch after picking up an injury during the English Premier League football match between Manchester City and Arsenal at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester, north west England, on June 17, 2020. - The Premier League makes its eagerly anticipated return today after 100 days in lockdown but behind closed doors due to coronavirus restrictions. (Photo by PETER POWELL / POOL / AFP)
Arsenal’s Spanish defender Pablo Mari (C) sits on the pitch on June 17, 2020. (Photo by PETER POWELL / POOL / AFP)

Let’s start with the good news from Arsenal, and to be fair, there’s quite a lot of it.

Kieran Tierney is available for selection despite his injury scare, and David Luiz is back from suspension. I know some will argue the latter isn’t good news, but Rob Holding and Shkodran Mustafi can’t play every game.

Cedric Soares won’t quite make it back in time for Sheffield United following his facial injury, but he should return after that. Lucas Torreira will also rejoin full training in the coming days.

Pablo Mari and Gabriel Martinelli both had successful procedures this week, but the bad news is that both will miss the remainder of the season.

Mari has a significant strain to his ankle ligaments and will return in two to three months. Martinelli had a lesion to the cartilage in the left knee and will miss at least the rest of this season. There’s no timeframe after that, but we expect a couple of months out.

There’s no change for Bernd Leno and Calum Chambers. Leno will miss four to six weeks of action after a moderate ligament strain, whilst Chambers won’t return this season. The right-back turned centre-back is “progressing well”, though.

Overall, it could be worse. After the last team news update, it seemed like Arsenal had a curse on them. But with Granit Xhaka back, a few more close to returning and no injury to Tierney, it’s not quite as bleak now.