Theo Walcott didn’t hold back while cooking this underperforming Arsenal star

Arsenal’s loss on Sunday is almost a week old, yet it is still being talked about. It was not even a heavy defeat, just an 83rd-minute freekick – too good for almost any keeper to save – that cost Arsenal three points at Anfield.

But the stories coming out of the game are interesting. Liverpool played a central midfielder at full-back, and that became the highlight of the match. Dominik Szoboszlai’s flawless performance in an unfamiliar role, capped off with the incredible freekick, has dominated the narrative.

The flip side to that praise, however, is worth some introspection for Arsenal. Former Arsenal man and now full-time pundit Theo Walcott summed it up perfectly, pinpointing exactly what went wrong and why Szoboszlai found so much comfort.

Theo Walcott didn’t hold back on this underperforming Arsenal star

Speaking on It’s Called Soccer, Walcott aimed criticism at Gabriel Martinelli for his lack of involvement in Arsenal’s attack.

Walcott said: “Szoboszlai wasn’t tested at all. You’ve got a centre-midfield player at full-back, that’s music to my ears, but not at one point did Martinelli do his strengths... If you overthink things as a winger, you mess up.”

Those three lines beautifully capture Arsenal’s problem on the day. Martinelli was one of the poorest performers and, worryingly, this is becoming a trend. But let’s stick to Sunday this time.

Against Liverpool, the winger did nothing to test a makeshift full-back. Szoboszlai was comfortable pacing ahead and taking some risks because Martinelli didn’t take any from his side.

Basic street football tells you a player in a new position is either too good or too bad. Szoboszlai was not disastrous, but he was hardly solid in the pure sense of a full-back. There were gaps in his game and space to exploit, yet Martinelli failed to capitalize.

A winger has two basic responsibilities: either dribble past opponents and break lines, or deliver crosses sharp enough to pierce a defense. Martinelli did neither.

According to Sofascore, he registered 0 shots on target, 0 shots off target, no dribbles attempted, and 0 accurate crosses. That is not a winger’s performance – it is that of a spectator admiring the pitch.

Walcott was right. Overthinking kills wingers. They are meant to be risk-takers. No way out? Take the shot. No space? Create it with a dribble. And if you are Brazilian, with dribbling as second nature, there are no excuses.

In essence, Martinelli was simply poor and created nothing. Serious introspection is needed at the Emirates.