Speaking ahead of Arsenal’s match against Burnley this weekend, Mikel Arteta gave updates on Gabriel Martinelli, David Luiz, and Thomas Partey.

Martinelli, Luiz, and Partey are three players who would probably be in contention for the first-team starting lineup if they were fit, but they’re currently at varying stages in their injury recovery processes.

Martinelli has been out since June with a knee injury, but he made his comeback playing 45 minutes for the u21s against AFC Wimbledon earlier this week.

Meanwhile, Luiz has missed a couple of games since his head clash with Raul Jimenez against Wolves. Partey is also out having reinjured himself in his first game back against Spurs last weekend.

“Martinelli played first 45 mins for a long time and came through okay and has trained,” Arteta said. “Luiz we will assess today and tomorrow to see if he can compete or not, and Thomas is out for a few games.”

On Martinelli, this is a positive update. He’s not going to be starting on Sunday, but his first game back clearly went smoothly, putting him in a good position to play again next Friday with the u23s.

We’ll have to wait and see on Luiz, but it sounds like he’s closer to making another appearance after the blow to his head. As for Partey, we’re going to have to manage without him for another few weeks, by the sounds of things.