Ten men Arsenal playing against a complete Chelsea team, just less than some minutes to the end of the first half, was not the ideal position every Arsenal fan hoped for. Before the game commenced, there was some positivity in the minds of Arsenal fans who felt Arsenal could get a result against the blues. However, after Arsenal was reduced to ten men, a lot of us felt this was going to amount to a whitewash from Chelsea; however, the Arsenal players on the pitch had different ideas.
In all honesty, Chelsea never made their one man advantage count, as we were not really under serious pressure of conceding a goal from them. Apart from the few times Abraham (that guy again!) and Hudson – Odoi attempted our goal posts, we were never in danger of conceding goals. Bernd Leno was also on fire; his several saves, was all that was needed to still give us a fighting chance.
But just as the game was starting to look like it was going to end with a one goal loss to Chelsea, Martinelli, our Brazillian wonder kid, stepped up his game. Arsenal won the ball back after a Chelsea corner, Martinelli was given the ball, he ran the full length of the pitch, and before anybody knew what was happening, Chelsea had conceded an equalizer and the game had just become interesting.
The game, as we all know, ended 2-2. The team did well enough not to lose to Chelsea; however, one player who has been enjoying all the accolades since is Gabriel Martinelli.
According to the Daily Mail, Gabriel’s performance against Chelsea impressed three former footballers, who believe Martinelli has all it takes to make an impact in this Arsenal team. The three ex footballers, Martin Keown, Joe Cole and Rio Ferdinand, are sport pundits, and their views about Martinelli were aired while they were analyzing the Chelsea versus Arsenal game, for BT sports.
This is what the Daily Mail reported Keown as saying: “That young man, he has the club in the palm of his hands. He can take it wherever he wants. He was the youngest player on the pitch out there for Arsenal and he showed the experienced players how it was done.
“I was here in ’99 when Kanu scored three goals and that looked dead and buried tonight when they were 1-0 down. He really is absolutely outstanding. He was certain he was going to put it away (his goal). His instinct for goal, his movement off the ball, show me another 18-year-old in Europe doing this? Manchester United had him on trial and didn’t take him… that raises questions.”
For Joe Cole, this is what he said “you feel like this could galvanize the whole club, the spirit was unbelievable,’ he added.”Massive, massive player for Arsenal and I have seen him twice now, great player.
‘I think Arteta has something in his team. I think he gets them back in, shows them Martinelli’s movement, and say this is the standard for Arsenal Football Club.
‘I still don’t think they are capable of getting in the Champions League, that’s gone, but they need to build for the future. The new Arsenal.”
Rio Ferdinand said this: “Brings kids down here and get them to watch someone like him,’
‘He is showing that desire that other young kids, you need to see that. You play where you can get in the team then you show your quality. It is refreshing.”
It is actually a good thing that we have Martinelli at Arsenal for now, but while he is busy dishing out world class performances, he needs to keep his feet on the ground and not let the accolades go to his head. I would advise the Brazilian to keep his head down, be humble and dedicated to making a name for himself in football. We are Arsenal and we are proud.
Sylvester Kwentua