At the beginning of February, Arsenal’s form dropped, losing to Everton and Manchester City and drawing with Brentford. This dip in form put Arsenal players in the spotlight, with Gabriel Martinelli emerging as one Gunner who seemed not to be at his best.
Many felt Martinelli was lost without Gabriel Jesus, and it was costing the team. About Martinelli, Ian Wright said on PL productions (as quoted by the Mirror), “Yes, we have Jesus coming back, which will then hopefully fire up Martinelli even more because our left-hand side has missed Jesus.
“Jesus would interchange with Martinelli, and he would get inside, and we would get a little bit more going on our left side. That has been a bit redundant, even though Martinelli has scored some goals; he’s had to come off the bench to do that. It feels like a whole side of Arsenal is not working.
Thereafter, there were calls for Arteta to bench the Brazilian for Leandro Trossard, but Arteta didn’t entertain these calls. Instead, the Spaniard opted to drop Nketiah and, in turn, play both Trossard and Martinelli alongside Bukayo Saka in attack, which has worked well.
For a few games now that Arteta has opted for this attack, Martinelli has shown glimpses of brilliance; he not only scores as he used to but he looks dangerous too whenever he has the ball in his hands. Wright believes that we can credit Martinelli’s newfound form on Trossard’s influence on his game, saying on the Kelly and Wrighty show, “I think we have to mention Trossard because of the fact he came in when he came in and remember, he wasn’t even the first choice.
“But he’s somebody that came in and is ready to go. From the first game to now, he’s just got better and better. Like I’ve said, with Gabriel Martinelli—you saw with him and Eddie [Nketiah]—as much as Eddie came in and plugged that gap for a bit, scored some goals, it just got us to the next phase.
“What was happening was people started to work us out a bit because what we found with Gabi was he was kind of isolated on that left. When you look at Saka, he’s got Ben White coming round, he’s got Martin Odegaard coming across.”
Nketiah is a fine finisher, but when he came on, Martinelli’s form suffered, but Trossard injected fresh energy into the wingers’ game. Trossard has been an Arsenal revelation; he is the gift that keeps on giving.
Darren N
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Arsenal will need a more physical CF like Jesus and Nketiah in some games. Nketiah is also faster at high pressing
I don’t know about redundant; perhaps a little under-employed when the other two are fit & in form, but he’s such a good player to be able to bring on at later stages in a game that looks already secure but possibly out for a few weeks with his latest injury.
Trossard has so much more to offer than Eddie clearly.. I think the battle will be between Martinelli and Leandro on the left.. Personally I prefer Trossard for now.. Less turnovers and better decision making
If we win tonight, Nketiah will be a very good asset for rotation in the Euro League.
Redundant ?
Maybe its just me but any time I hear that word I translate it to mean expendable, supplus to requirement and therefore a very little time left before getting the sack (or shown out the door).
We are going to need ALL the help we can get to get us over the line in both competitions we are still in.
Nketiah will surely be part of that help.
I don’t think any of our player should be addressed as being redundant ATM. I think we need all our players to be red hot in their performances for rotation purposes. Nketia though may not be at the same level with Jesus and Trossard but, will be highly needed in the course of our chasing the two trophies.
I agree, Jesus and Trossard are in front of Eddie. Let’s hope Leo stays fit, because he cleverly gives space to Martinelli. The team play better, in general, without Nketiah playing EVERY game, but he may well get his chance again before the season ends, but the difference is everybody now trusts he can do a job. No way is he ‘redundant’, we now have a fit ,quality squad and he needs to produce as soon as he gets the chance again. He will have earn his spot after he recovers from injury.
I accept the theme of this article as being truth. I like Eddie and want him to stay.
But it must be admitted that he does NOT have the qualities that both Jesus and Trossard have to be interchangeable in position. Flexibility and fluidity in play is the MASSIVE PLUS this team now has, when compared even to last season.
That quality , PLUS our supreme desire and one for all , all for one mentality, so brilliantly embedded deep in our dressing room mentality by the mesmeric Arteta , are the reasons for our transformation.
BTW, City have been doing likewise for years and that is a prime reason why they have been so successful.
Redundant is a terrible thing to suggest. I really don’t get some fans saying stuff like this, it’s all about a squad and using certain players where necessary. Nketiah might go on the bench yes, but even Jesus is not guaranteed a starting place! When Nketiah went on his scoring run he was ‘the best thing since sliced bread’ but now he’s redundant because another player has had a couple of good games, sheesh and SMH!
Not everyone will agree with me. But I believe it’s incredible important to have as many of our own (=hale end) players growing in the team
I don’t care if Trossard is better at the moment. Nelson, Saka, Smith Rowe, N’ketiah, and later Balogun… these are true gunners.
The all have enormous potential. I’d see 28 year old Trossard as a squad fill-up and prioritize our own players. Hope we can raise more stars on other positions as well (midfielders, defenders, goalies)
Not at all.. Not at all… Think of the contribution he made while Gabriel Jesus was injured. Why should you who doesn’t know the importance of squad depth write football. Think of the much needed competition Nkettiah gave to other forward players, he is more than 100% still needed.