Gabriel Martinelli used to turn up against Liverpool. Across 12 appearances against the Reds, he racked up six goals and two assists.
Though controversial, given his recent struggles, starting him against the Reds made sense. His previous form against them, coupled with his pace, was meant to lay the foundation for a standout performance at Anfield.
Unfortunately, that did not materialise. Just as he did against Manchester United in the league opener, the Brazilian failed to influence Arsenal’s attacking play in that 1-0 defeat.
Martinelli fails to deliver
While he put in a solid defensive shift, his indecision in the final third proved frustrating, as he repeatedly ran the ball down blind alleys. One moment that particularly angered fans came when he ignored Viktor Gyokeres in space, chose to drive forward alone, and promptly lost possession.
In that game, Gyokeres received no service up front. That moment summed it up.
Gabriel Martinelli vs Liverpool:
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70 minutes
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0 goals/assists
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0 shots
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0 dribbles
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6 passes
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0% cross completion
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2 duels won
This was a game Martinelli could have used to force his way back into Mikel Arteta’s starting XI. Instead, he failed even to get the better of makeshift right-back Dominik Szoboszlai.
Walcott’s advice to Martinelli
Right now, Martinelli looks like a dish best served from the bench. He is in for a rough ride at the Emirates. He might have been better off leaving the club this summer. There is clearly a player in there, but Eberechi Eze or Leandro Trossard may better serve Arsenal in the meantime.
Martinelli was once a fine talent. However, we have not seen anything close to his best for a long time, and whether we will again remains a mystery.
Theo Walcott has urged him to return to basics. As reported by TBR Football, the former Gunner said:
“Noni Madueke has been very positive, and that has been the difference with Gabriel Martinelli, who has been overthinking things.”
What are your thoughts on Martinelli?
Daniel O
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Whatever you think of Martinelli. He isn’t doing enough to start. So why is he starting?
@Reggie
Because of his work rate. Plain and simple.
But he is an attacker and we need better stats than 0, 0, 0, 0, going forwards. I don’t doubt he works well defending, so does Odergaard. But the pair of them are not producing going forwards. Gabriel is our greatest threat at set pieces but if he was a s#/t defender would you still play him, just for that. His job is to make and score goals. He isn’t doing that.
I will put it another way. Mesut Ozil was an awful defender but a great attacker. You only noticed his awful defending when he didn’t produce. When he produced, his lack of defensive bones in body didn’t matter.
Regie, I love your insight…genuis. Arteta is like a genuis with a Phd who excels in academia, as a professor, but not quite as well on a job.
No one doubts is knowledge, tactics, etc, but when it comes down to managing 90 minutes of action, he is very tentative – not proactive enough. His in-game tweaks are minimal and his subs are too late, if not poor.
I won’t say Martinelli did not deserve to start, but it was obvious that he had no business starting the second half given the options on the bench. At least he played poorly enough to not be surprised to be considered a bench player going forward – it’s good he won’t blame Arteta for that, which he could have if he were immediately dropped for Eze.
Odegaard has been too ineffective for too long to be starting games. He is slowly killing Nwaneri’s confidence as a result and I am afraid that Nwaneri’s growth might stall.
Why should players have a chance only when others are injured? He knew of Saliba’s ankle pre-game but didn’t trust Mosquera to do well, so why sign him? Such little decisions show lack of faith and dampen players confidence.
When Arteta shows more faith in his squad they will start winning titles. He has the squad. He needs to trust them more – ALL of them.
Thanks, I just think its not working with Martinelli and has not for a long while. I don’t know why but it can not carry on.
He could still leave in this window as some countries windows are still open, some for a few days, with Saudi (who he has recently been linked with) for another 9 days.
Overthinking or being told what to do from the tactical genius acting like a superstar manager from the touchline .
Read he told Eze to play it back against Pool ,same happened to Tavares against forest,he ignored him and look what happened to him .
Just wish this clown would let the players express themselves rather than moulding players into himself as a player (not a good one at that )
He’s played under one of the best attcking managers the PL as seen and worked under probably the best manager in world football ,you would think he’s learnt a thing or two ,obviously not .
@ DK
The Ist line that you wrote is exactly what I had been thinking.
2nd line about micro-managing is what he has to stop doing.
You have to let the players off the shackles and play without the handbrakes at key stages of the game once the early sparring is over. Then the fans will forgive you even if you loose as they would have been entertained and felt they had value for spending their hard earned money.
Practice makes perfect:
Do we know if Gabe Martinelli actually practices passing the ball accurately in front of whoever is the striker?
And does he complete that movement over and over again on the practice field?
Of course all players should be doing that for Viktor, Kai, Ebere, Noni and anyone who runs into an attacking shooting position.