Gabriel Martinelli’s hamstring injury has seen Arsenal’s January transfer window gamble backfire almost immediately.
The Brazil international hobbled off in midweek during the first half of his side’s Carabao Cup semi-final second leg defeat against Newcastle.
Reports on Friday claimed the 23-year-old will be out of action for a month which could see him miss a minimum of seven matches in all competitions.
Mikel Arteta made no secret of his desire to add to his ranks last month, especially in light of the serious injuries suffered by Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Jesus.
The Gunners were linked with moves for a host of forwards, including the likes of Ollie Watkins, Benjamin Sesko and Nico Williams.
With all of their top targets unavailable and Arsenal reluctant to pay over the odds the decision was made to stick rather than twist.
Martinelli’s spell on the sidelines now means Arteta is totally reliant on Kai Havertz, Leandro Trossard, Raheem Sterling and teenager Ethan Nwaneri.
Arsenal’s lack of cover in forward areas has been obvious for well over a month and was never better illustrated than by the sight of Kieran Tierney pressed into emergency action as a winger during last month’s north London derby win over Tottenham.
‘We have lost Gabby (Jesus). I’m sure manager will look for something, because we had to bring Tierney on left wing,’ said Rice in the aftermath of that game.
‘We are a bit short there. I’d not be surprised if we do something (in the transfer window).’
Ultimately, Arsenal did nothing and their threadbare squad will be pushed to the limit in the coming weeks once they return from a warm weather training camp in Dubai with the prospect of Tierney, who is set to rejoin Celtic in the summer, likely to feature in an unfamiliar role again.
‘Rice complained about Tierney starting as a winger on live TV and the board still done nothing,’ said one disgruntled fan on X.
‘Even Rice was screaming for Arsenal to sign attackers,’ said another unhappy supporter. ‘He said there was no one to bring in at left wing so we did Tierney.’
‘I honestly believe Kieran Tierney can play left wing,’ said a more optimistic Gunner. ‘Arteta should experiment with it.’
And another added: ‘Kieran Tierney one last dance at left wing could be the stuff of dreams.’