Will Gabriel Martinelli pay the price for Eddie Nketiah not leaving on-loan?

Does Mikel Arteta prefer Eddie Nketiah to Gabriel Martinelli?

Mikel Arteta surprisingly kept Eddie Nketiah on after recalling the young attacker from his loan spell at Leeds United.

Nketiah did his best for Marcelo Bielsa’s side as they chased a Premier League promotion spot, however, he began to struggle for game time and Arsenal recalled the attacker.

Reports claimed that he would head back out on loan again, but he was kept on by the Gunners and has started two of Arsenal’s last three games.

Nketiah’s gain seems to be Gabriel Martinelli’s loss as he didn’t play any part in Arsenal’s 4-0 win last weekend.

The Brazilian has been in fine form for the Gunners since he broke into their first team this season.

He already has ten goals for Arsenal in all competition and he is expected to score even more goals as the season proceeds, but will he be sacrificed for Nketiah?

Nketiah is unproven at this level, however, starting him in their first game back from the training camp may suggest that Arteta has taken a closer look at him and decided that he has exactly what he wants from his attacker.

There has to be some reasoning behind Arteta’s decision to go with Nketiah over Martinelli because it seems being a regular goalscorer is not enough for the Spaniard.

Nketiah is a centre forward who may struggle out wide, but Martinelli has shown that he can play through the middle and on the wings, I hope that he can win over Arteta and stay ahead in the pecking order.

An article from Ime

29 Comments

  1. Frankly, I don’t understand the reasoning behind the question this article poses. Why should recalling a young player from loan and playing him have ANY bearing on MA’s view of Martinelli? Simply because MA played Nketiah in our last game and benched Martinelli, is NO sensible reason to ask this question. No reason at all, if we leave aside the urge to pen an article at all, ANY ARTICLE IN FACT, with ones name attched to it. Your question ignores the widely accepted argument that all strikers, but PARTICULARLY young ones, need careful handling and should not be overplayed. I suggest to you that this is what happened here and that your question has no validity at all, other than this point.

    1. Agree 100%, Jon Fox. This is an article for the sake of publishing something, anything at all. Let’s have a wager that Martinelli plays against Olympiakos.

      1. And this comment was just a negative comment for the sake of it. Try actually adding a contribution for once, it is cathartic

        1. I honestly don’t think that Martinelli is being sidelined as we all think he is a precocious talent. Sometimes players need a break and it is often said that game management for the young players is important. I’m sure Admin Martin that Martinelli will be back soon

          1. An article with no roots because MA as a coach has his tactics when choosing who to play &who to put in squad

    2. No, it does not. That is your opinion and this question asked is fully justified and sensible. If you dont like it dont comment.

      1. ADMIN Martin, Quite an admission from you personally that it is now, presumably, the policy of this site that we are not to comment if we think the question is not fully justified and sensible. Are you from North Korea, China, Russia or any other society that does not believe in free speech and the right to say it? CAN YOU PLEASE CONFIRM OR DENY IF THAT IS THE POLICY ON HERE NOW? Failing this denial , your comment has opened up a can of worms. I am sure you can see this but do you even care.?That, I truly wonder.

        1. Nah Jon, I am fed up with your constant attacks on here, you berate the writers and other users in almost every comment you make and it is now tedious. Just try commenting without always being so damn obnoxious. As for policy, it is now MY policy to start deleting YOUR comments if they contain attacks on this site, the articles that have been put up, the authors or the other site users. I will not delete you having an opposing viewpoint but your days of being rude unrestricted are now officially over with.

          1. Thank you sir. I have almost always wondered why Jon fox is allowed to berate folks on here with impunity. Diverse ideas are meant to be allowed on a site like this and so is constructive criticism but I do think it’s a shame to allow Jon fox lauch scalthing attacks on people on here undetered.

          2. To be fair to admin there is not always going to be big talking point articles to write fact. So you just have to write or put in peoples written filler articles. Makes good reading either way, if you don’t like it then click the little back button and go on with your lives. Rather then giving everyone abuse for contributing.

  2. The actual reason is that He need GM fresh for coming Europa League tie, ditto for Matteo Guendouzi not The lies that Media are peddling about that there’s misunderstanding between gaffer and player.

  3. I think nketiah is more capable of doing those link up plays,one-twos than martinelli.Marttinelli’s strenths are that of a winger and i think he is best suited for a LW than a striker.Auba on the other hand is a womderful striker.

    The biggest selection headache for MA is the front 3

    1. OT

      It seems like torreira and ozil has not travelled.
      Torreira due to illness
      Ozil,a personal reason

      And surprisingly guendouzi has travelled so i hope the feud has ended🙄❤

      COYG

          1. haha, you’re not wrong Reggie, but yeah, he has good reason finally. I’m wondering if this means Ceballos will take the CAM role or Willock. Arteta might be leaning towards Willock considering Ceballos is still coming back from a long absense.

  4. There’s 3 games in 7 days and one of those games is like 4 flight hours away so i dont think we should look much into the selection at the weekend.

  5. If Arteta is creating a fair system of picking players on their training performances, then “everyone” should be in with getting in and getting out, if it is fair.

  6. The answer to the question posed is no..The more talented young forwards pushing for a place the better for Arsenal.It keeps everyone on their toes which is what competition is all about.

  7. First of all, let me stand to correct this post of its wrongs,, nketiah is never a match for martinelli and even considering his age,, I guess MA intentionally played NK cos of lacazett’s misfirings, he would have easily fixed Martinelli but guessed to try using NK to know how good he can be to handle the situation considering he should have been sent on loan.. Come on we still gat European matches incoming, but what I’m sure is that, NK can never bench martinelli in the near future, only if he (martinelli) is played in the wings, then NK gets to have a start

  8. Martinelli is an exceptional footballer and MA knows that very well. The only reason he did not play him the Newcastle game is either due to player management or because Nketiah played as a CF and Auba on the wings, and so Martinelli did not play because he is best on the wings. Anyway will soon see Martinelli in Greece playing and also scoring! Up the Gunners!

  9. I feel martinelli’s position in the team is not under threat from Nketiah. Martinelli is more similar to aubameyang (fast, great movement, knack for being in great positions to score and trickery) and I believe that’s his real competition in the team, while nketiah’s game is similar to lacazette with the pressing, tireless energy and hold up. Going forward we’ll see nketiah being lacazette’s deputy while martinelli will be on the wing playing similar to aubameyang tucking into a second striker with the left side pushing up in possession.

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