Ian Wright expressed his disappointment with Gabriel Martinelli’s inability to stay onside during Arsenal’s disallowed goal in their 1-1 draw against Fulham. The goal, which would have been a late winner, was ruled out after VAR confirmed that Martinelli had strayed just offside before delivering the assist for Bukayo Saka. The decision underscored the fine margins in Premier League football, leaving the Gunners frustrated as they dropped points in a game they were expected to win.
The offside call was a narrow one that only technology could confirm, but it ultimately proved decisive. Arsenal’s inability to secure all three points means they missed an opportunity to close the gap on Liverpool at the top of the table. Wright, speaking on Premier League Productions, highlighted his surprise at Martinelli’s lapse in concentration, particularly given his experience and ability. He said, “I have to give Martinelli credit. A winger can see all the way down the line, but the fact is he has to be onside; these are the margins we’re dealing with. We haven’t lost, and that’s the main thing.”
The outcome serves as a reminder of the importance of precision in crucial moments. While Wright acknowledged that the team avoided a loss, he emphasised the need for sharper play in situations like this to prevent missed opportunities. Martinelli’s offside positioning was avoidable, and as a top player, he is expected to make the right decision in such moments.
Arsenal must learn from this result and work on creating more decisive opportunities earlier in matches, ensuring they are not reliant on last-minute heroics. While the draw was a setback, the season is long, and the Gunners still have time to recover and maintain their challenge in the Premier League. However, moments like these could prove costly if not addressed promptly.
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I’m afraid Martinelli has not, generally speaking, lived up to the early potentials and expectations of his early years of breaking into the Arsenal first team
Many, including the likes of Jurgen Klobb expected him to have develop into a world beater by now.
When I watch the likes of Musiala of Bayern and even his compatriot Vinicus I can’t help feeling that Martinelli should be at that level.
Maybe he will still reach those dizzy levels he was envisioned to, but for now he is grossly underperforming in my opinion
I agree. He is one dimensional and because of that, he’s become easily predictable, which has made him easy to defend against. He kept reminding me of Theo Walcot; fast, full of potential but lacks the intelligence to maximise the potentials.
Walcott was more decisive when in positions to score or play the killer ball – he even had slightly better feet and was much faster, especially over the first few yards. His problem was general consistency – he’d kill it for 5 games then go missing for the next 5. Martinelli is always on it, 100%, which you have to respect, but for whatever reason, he doesn’t seem to have that killer instinct – which is really strange because he did appear to have it in his first season or so…
Walcott was very much like rashford imo
Martinelli should have been a bench warmer or gone by now…if Arteta was as ruthless as Pep for example…Sterling shud be given a chance no doubt…Martinelli plays football looking down ..doesnt play the pass when he needs to most of the time and is very predictable ..its time we moved on from him..
I agree, especially as he’s looking down the line. Centrally there’s a bit more of an excuse.
But to be honest, I can’t work out why the attacking player just doesn’t look at one of the oppositions defender’s and makes sure he’s always behind at least one. While I know that with the speed of the moves can sometimes lead to offsides, I still think making sure that a defender is always in front of you will result in less cahnce of being caught offside.