Arsenal: 4 Gabriel Martinelli positives and negatives vs Leeds

As soon as the full-time whistle blew against Aston Villa and attentions turned to Leeds, they also shifted towards Gabriel Martinelli and his expected involvement.

Mikel Arteta has after plenty of time and money arrived at a Premier League starting lineup he and supporters will almost always agree on. There are one or two question marks in midfield, but that’s about it.

After that there are two groups: the ones you bring on off the bench and those who are on it just to fill the numbers. Martinelli finds himself in the former of those categories.

Handed a spot in the team in the 2-0 win over Leeds, the Brazilian went one better than his last start for the club by completing the entire 90 minutes. Arguably the standout attacking player against AFC Wimbledon, he wasn’t on Tuesday, and that’s without much competition.

4 positives and negatives of Gabriel Martinelli’s performance in the 2-0 win over Leeds as Arsenal forward comes under criticism

Selecting a front three of Nicolas Pepe, Eddie Nketiah and Martinelli, on this occasion the 20-year-old was out on the left, the position he’s favoured aside from centre-forward, and it left him one-on-one with Leeds’ debutant Cody Drameh.

It was a huge game for him. The biggest victim of no European football this term, aside from cup competitions he’s been limited to just ten Premier League minutes across two matches following the two starts he was handed amid an early injury and illness crisis.

The chances will not come around as often as he would like, nor as often as he needs for his development. There is only so much that can be achieved on the training pitch that transfers into competitive matches.

He’s in a tough spot, and it showed in his display. But, alas, it wasn’t all bad. There were parts of his game that sung while other fell flat. Saving the best for last, here is what didn’t come off for him.

1. Martinelli Has to Get His Head Up

A right footer playing out on the left is going to want to come inside onto his preferred foot. There will be drives to the byline when the opportunity arises, but the overriding tendency is to come inside.

When said player does that there are two options: take the shot on or pass the ball. Martinelli on almost every occasion against Leeds wasted threatening passages by either taking the shot on or trying to fashion on.

He does not get his head up enough. By the time he does opportunities are squandered.

The passes are there, options both simple and slightly trickier, but it’s plain to see that this is someone desperate for the moment; a monkey off his back and a goal to see the stadium up and applauding him. Not necessarily selfish by the way of self-indulged, there is such a will to be the final act that he’s losing sight of the chapters before that.

This is someone yearning for minutes. But those moments aren’t only successful if he’s on the scoresheet. The end result reflects more flatteringly on him but this desire for immediate success is limiting his output. In bypassing the connections and combinations needed for fluid attacks he’s distancing himself further from the first team.

Being direct is one of his most endearing traits. Fans love it and the chaotic unstructured play it brings can have positive repercussions. There just has to be a balance, one his over exuberance is causing to be unstable.

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2. Martinelli’s Dribbling Left Plenty to be Desired

Fashioning high quality shooting positions and executing those would probably sit atop Martinelli’s CV. His technical ability, with the capacity to play inside and outside, wouldn’t be far behind.

His dribbling against Leeds would’ve have changed that order. His touch let him down on more than one occasion.

It needs mentioning that this is one game. This isn’t ‘Martinelli the player’, it’s ‘Martinelli coming up short in his chance against Leeds as a worrying trend grows’. Numerous times he received the ball out wide and looked to cut in, as if he was seeking to replicate Arjen Robben, which saw him followed by the covering midfielder and resulted in lost possession.

His explosive pace and quick feet normally see him evade his marker. On Tuesday he didn’t deliver a single cross, attempted two shots and got none on target. He attempted seven dribbles and completed three, with his total of losing possession 13 times only beaten by two other players in the team. Yes, one of them was Pepe.

Sometimes raw speed isn’t enough. There seemed to be an expectancy from Martinelli that he could just prod the ball beyond his man and pick up the pieces after jetting past him. For all the brilliance he produced in that incredible first season, he is still a raw talent who has to get a run of games. There is a player there. He just has to get the minutes and play himself into form, whether that is at Arsenal or out on loan.

But, despite the criticisms – they are fair, he was very poor and Pepe can’t be singled out without mentioning Martinelli – there were some aspects of his performance that were encouraging, as well as some mitigation for him.

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3. Off the Ball Work & Defensive Shape

Out of possession this is what you want to see from Martinelli. Back when he returned from his injury last season one of the key features that had supporters pining for his regular inclusion was the outstanding dedication he showed without the ball.

What Martinelli has is an insatiable appetite to win. Every goal he loves, every victory he savours, and it is in his mind each game that he has to be the winner somehow, whether in a duel or otherwise.

Up against Drameh on his Leeds debut, the young full-back had a torrid afternoon with the occasion getting the better of him. At any point it looked like he was two yellow cards for late fouls waiting to happen. Martinelli played his part in that.

Gabi hounded him down as Leeds attempted to play out from the back and he left the youngster constantly peering over his shoulder. In total, Martinelli made four tackles on Tuesday, the joint most in the game.

As ever he showed endeavour to cover spaces in behind, willing to drop off and slot into a wider midfield berth with Leeds in possession. For all his tunnel vision with the ball at his feet, when he didn’t have it he was a proper team player.

But there is also mitigation. A poor day at the office for Martinelli comes with some reasoning.

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4. A Mismatched Forward Line and an Unwilling Sead Kolasinac

If you ask any player who finds themselves on the periphery whether they’d rather get the nod as one of those in the more regular top-flight starting lineup or as part of the second string, every single one will favour the former.

Of course they would, they’d be playing with a better calibre of player who contribute individually as well as collectively. As was evident on Tuesday, the front three of Pepe, Gabi and Nketiah are not familiar with one another. This is three players who barely ever passed to one another, and left spaces so wide there was little room for combinations.

At the moment Martinelli doesn’t deserve to be starting Premier League matches. That Leeds performance confirmed why many others aren’t either. But when there are wholesale changes and obvious disconnect, it’s natural that players will struggle, especially in advanced areas. There is a reason his cameos in league matches have offered more promise.

Equally, the issue of being isolated also played a part. Martinelli isn’t excused for his performance by stating that Sead Kolasinac didn’t support him enough. It does offer a more balanced argument, however, as to why he made some decisions in possession that he did.

A run of games alongside Kieran Tierney – who his best performances for the club came in front of – Thomas Partey and Lacazette would produce a different result over time. It’s that simple. Yet nobody can be granted such freedoms without taking the chances presented to them.

The bottom line is that Gabi isn’t doing that at the minute. Bits and pieces here and there do not help, and wherever regular minutes may come from need to be sought out. Above all though, it must be remembered that he is only 20 years old, and has barely played football in a whole year: rare league outings and no youth action.

That, more than anything else, has to be taken into account.