Arsenal: 5 key players to keep Champions League alive vs Olympiakos

1. Gabriel Martinelli

You wouldn’t think that much would have changed having missed just one match. But what Gabriel Martinelli will be walking into against Olympiakos will be something completely different than what he walked out of against Burnley.

Against Burnley, he was another blunt end of a stale attacking schematic. Now, he’s walking into an attack that put up four convincing goals in about half an hour against Newcastle. Which is a big deal. And Martinelli is also a big deal, who happened to miss out on all the fun.

It’s incredible that Martinelli was completely forgotten against Newcastle. I didn’t once think about him because I was having too much fun without him. Which makes this Olympiakos match crucial for him, because he will have a buzzing attack around him and given his own individual talent, that is going to pay huge dividends here.

To me, that propels him above the other attackers in terms of initial potency. He watched from afar as they thrived, so he is going to be hungrier than anyone hoping to keep the excitement going. That’s why he’s No. 1 here.