The truth Arsenal fans need to know about Martinelli’s recent transformation

Gabriel Martinelli's recent form for Arsenal has been as inconsistent as ever. The Brazilian's equaliser after coming on as substitute against Manchester City was sublime and it capped off a brilliant week for him personally. But he's flattered to deceive when he's started in games this season. So what's going on?

Throughout the early stages of pre-season Gabriel Martinelli looked a shadow of himself as he laboured out on the left-hand side. The talk all summer had been of who might replace him and Trossard which must have made an impact. Rodrygo's name was being thrown into the mix among others.

An assist in each of the two pre-season matches at the Emirates earned Martinelli a Premier League start away at Manchester United but a poor performance there saw him dropped for the next match at home to Leeds.

Returning to the starting line up for the trip to Anfield, Martinelli turned in another poor 70 minutes and that confined the Brazilian to the bench for the visit of Nottingham Forest and he came on for the last 12 minutes of the match which by then had already been won.

Martinelli scores twice from the bench in one week

It took the Brazilian just 19 minutes as a substitute to win the match with a goal and an assist against Athletic Club in Bilbao. Not enough to earn him a start, Martinelli showed his worth with a stunning late equaliser against City: a sublime flick over Donnarumma.

Another poor performance as a starter against Port Vale in the Carabao Cup win forced Mikel Arteta to relegate Martinelli to the bench again for the trip to Newcastle United.

Coming on with 20 minutes to go, with Arsenal a goal down, the Brazilian was able to positively influence the game as the Gunners turned the match in their favour late on: winning 2-1.

Although Martinelli started and scored in the Champions League win over Olympiacos at the Emirates, he was dropped again for the visit of West Ham to the Emirates.

Martinelli and Trossard are in a battle for the same spot

Martinelli is clearly in a battle with Leandro Trossard for his place on the left-side of Arsenal's front three and the Brazilian looks up for the fight.

Noni Madueke will be another challenger for Martinelli's spot and Eberechi Eze may also be deployed there, should Arteta want to try him out on the left again.

The Brazilian looks dangerous when he is used as a substitute and he needs to have the same mindset when he is starting games. Martinelli is one of the few players in the Arsenal side that can run in behind teams and without him the Gunners don's posses that threat.

Competition for places seems to be getting the best out of this Arsenal squad and fans can see the same thing happening with Martinelli and Trossard. The Brazilian must find greater consistency if he is going to hold down his place.

It is exactly the kind of pressure he needs on him if he is going to recapture the form of 2022/23: easily his best season since joining Arsenal.