Martinelli must play… by Dan Smith
They say actions speak louder than words.
Martinelli’s volley against Newcastle with his second touch of the game forced Mikel Arteta to state that the 20-year-old deserved more minutes.
After a goal like that, our manager couldn’t really say anything else.
Should the Brazilian have to go to those lengths though just to get a chance?
He’s been feeding off scraps this season, the majority of time not getting off the bench, when he does he gets limited time to make an impact.
When Saka went off injured at home to Palace he was replaced by a DM, it took us going 2-1 down for a 10 minute cameo.
When we needed a goal at Brighton, he wasn’t trusted while even being 4-0 down at Anfield didn’t lead to him getting a run out.
The strangest thing Is our attack has hardly been pulling up trees.
Before the weekend we had scored as many times as possible from set pieces than we had from open play.
We have failed to score in 5 Prem fixtures out of 14, Aubameyang doesn’t press like he used too while it’s accepted that Lacazette won’t be signing a new deal.
So, if you an attacker and can’t get a run in this Arsenal team, then when will you?
The irony is the players seems to naturally have the attributes that his boss wants. He runs himself into the ground.
If there is something the player lacks, isn’t it the coach’s job to teach and make him better?
Wasn’t that Arteta’s strength at Man City, his work with talent 1-1 on the training pitch?
In North London though he’s been allowed to give up on individuals.
Instead of a remit of getting the best out of his resources, his employers have allowed him to pay players to sit at home, rip up contracts, loan out assets to the point their value drops.
This is a man who once said that Guendouzi and Ozil not making a squad for an FA Cup Final was a footballing decision.
This is when you could have 9 subs and a young Matt Smith (still yet to play a senior game for us) made the bench.
So, we don’t know if Martinelli will get his chance or if he’s another who simply doesn’t fit into his managers ethos.
Arteta can no longer hide behind the lad’s injuries.
He’s fit and ready.
If he doesn’t start at Old Trafford, it might never happen for the player under this regime.
Dan Smith