Arsenal: Gold medal Gabriel Martinelli the ace in the deck

Gabriel Martinelli, a Gold Medal Olympian, has been the player every Arsenal fan wants to see in the starting lineup week in and week out. However, last season far too often Mikel Arteta resorted to using Willian and even Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang out wide instead of the 20-year-old. That must stop now.

The young Brazilian brings a ridiculous amount to the table for the Gunners: his pace, constant hounding of defenders, take-on ability, and natural finishing are all the ingredients to have a successful career in north London.

Martinelli burst onto the scene in Arteta’s first half season as Gunners boss, playing 26 games in all competitions, scoring ten goals, racking up four assists, and of course that goal against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.

Being in superb form before his knee injury in which he scored in two of his last three games, it seemed logical to nurse the youngster through what was a desperately unfortunate setback. Fast forward to last season and being constantly left out of the first team or as an unused substitute when Willian was preferred was a real head-scratcher.

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Arsenal: Gold medal Gabriel Martinelli the ace in the deck and deserving of more minutes under Mikel Arteta in 2021/22 season

His talent is undeniable and Martinelli gives Arsenal something different when deployed out wide. Directness, aggression and high xG shot taking are part and parcel of his game.

He returned to Premier League action on December 19 against Everton and played just 19 minutes as the Gunners, rightly, took a cautious approach with the Brazilian.

Of his 23 Premier League squad appearances Martinelli only started seven times, was brought on as a substitute seven times and left unused on the bench nine times; why was Arteta not using him? It certainly appears that Martinelli offers far more than Willian or Aubameyang out wide, yet was often overlooked. Emile Smith Rowe’s electric form from a wide berth didn’t help either.

During the 14 league matches he was involved in, Martinelli scored twice and had an assist to his name. However, his game is not solely based on his stats. What he offers is something that not many other Arsenal players have in their kit bag: an unrelenting appetite to press and pounce.

Having him injury free is a must for Arsenal and perhaps him not being too involved with the Brazilian Olympic team (playing a total of 22 minutes and not featuring in the final victory over Spain) Martinelli could arrive back in north London fresh for the new campaign.

None of this will mean anything if Willian is constantly preferred to the youngster out wide. You would be hard-pressed to find a single Arsenal fan who would agree that Willian deserves a place ahead of him and that is no disrespect to the former Chelsea winger. But the fact is Martinelli brings so much more to the table.

A constant goal threat, willingness to track back, harassing the opposition, sublime skill, trickery and threatening inside and outside movements mean Martinelli must be involved as often as possible by Arteta. When you look at the young talent currently on Arsenal’s books, it is ridiculously exciting for the future.

We all understand that he was used sparingly in his comeback from injury to begin with, but once fully fit, he was barely given a look in. If Willian is constantly picked over him (or anyone) when his form dictates otherwise, there will be some serious grumblings from the Gunners faithful.

While it remains unlikely that Martinelli will be a part of Arsenal’s squad for at least the opening week having missed pre-season due to his Olympic commitments, when he returns, he has to be in the squad and be utilized. The concern is how many minutes he will get should someone like James Maddison arrive, a move that will prompt further usage of Smith Rowe out wide.

Martinelli has everything Arsenal need though, his numbers are superb, and he must be given the opportunity again to prove he is the player that ran the length of the field at Stamford Bridge and calmly slotted home with minimal fuss.

He is young, energetic and a game-changer when on the pitch, his time for Arsenal is now. Oh, did we mention he’s an Olympic Gold Medalist, too?