Arsenal: Gabriel Martinelli has the features worth gambling on

Arsenal are taking a risk with potential new signing Gabriel Martinelli. But he has the right kind of skill set that is worth taking a gamble on.

As of writing, Arsenal are yet to make an official signing. There are a few speculatory reasons for this, from the fact that the new Adidas kit has not yet been unveiled and the club wants to do produce a full signing reveal video with the new ket or that Unai Emery wants to see what kind of talent he has on his hands from the London Hale products. But ultimately, the fact of inactivity remains.

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If there has been a deal made so far, and that is quite difficult to determine given the vague nature and wide range of the reports, then it comes from the depths of youth talent in Brazil.

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According to a vast array of media sources, the Gunners are expected to sign 18-year-old winger Gabriel Martinelli at some point this summer — if you had missed this story, there is a nice summary of all of the reports and what is widely known if football.london, which you can read here.

The point is this: should Martinelli arrive in north London on the request of impending technical director Edu, Arsenal are taking a risk on a young, talented but extremely raw player for a very palpable price that can be swallowed should the roll of the dice backfire.

But there is a deeper element to this deal than just signing talent and hoping they can figure it all out. Martinelli not just skilled. He is skilled in the right areas.

Specifically, it is very difficult to teach players how to dribble and beat a defender. Yes, you can coach up a player’s technique, their skill level, their touch and close control, but there is an unpredictability that comes with dribbling in matches. It is also one of the more transferable elements of the game. If you can beat a defender, you can do it any level.

Elements like creativity, vision, positioning, the mental aspects of the game, are far more difficult to predict when attempting to jump up to a higher level. But Martinelli, at this stage in his career, is built in a different manner, one that relies on his athleticism, speed, agility, balance and dribbling ability.

If there is the type of player that you should be taking a risk on, Martinelli is it. Skilful, quick, athletic, powerful. Developing young players is difficult, tempestuous and unpredictable. There is no right way to go about it, other than to play the probabilities and hope that a couple of them stick.

And Martinelli is the right kind of probability to roll the dice on. That is no guarantee of success, but it is most certainly a risk worth taking.