Much has been made of Mikel Arteta’s reluctance to leave Gabriel Martinelli minutes in the Premier League for late Arsenal, and some fear the Brazilian could become frustrated and want out.
After arriving from Ituano in 2019, the 19-year-old won the fans directly with his all-action playing style, enthusiasm and raw ability. In just 36 games for the first team so far, he has scored an impressive ten goals and given five assists – which highlights the fine talent the club has on its hands.
But he has recently struggled to force his way into the first team for a number of reasons. The most important is the improvement in the form of both Nicolas Pepe and Willian who endured difficult starts on the campaign. At the time, Gunners’ faithful were desperate for the young Brazilian to return so he could replace one of the more experienced best friends, but so far that has not worked.
After working his way back to fitness after a knee injury that saw him miss no less than 30 games, Martinelli has found himself a peripheral figure. The player himself has said that he sees himself as a left winger even though he clearly has all the attributes to play as a center-forward, but there are whispers that Arteta sees things differently and sees the young man as his future number nine.
Arsenal are well stocked in the big areas with the above mentioned couple Willian and Pepe providing competition for Martinelli, as well as Bukayo Saka. Sometimes the Gunners boss has exposed Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang on the left side and both Martin Odegaard and Emile Smith Rowe have also played from the wide side.
But at the end of the summer, things can look very different going forward. At the beginning of the 2021/22 season, Aubameyang will be 32 years old and when Alexandre Lacazette’s contract approaches its expiry date, he can be sold. The future of Eddie Nketiah and Folarin Balogun is also uncertain and so if Martinelli were to change positions, he could find himself playing much more regularly.
. @ charles_watts: “All fear of Martinelli and whether Mikel likes him or not, I do not think you should be worried about it. From everything I hear, he is still very much of the long-term future at Arsenal. ”Pic.twitter.com/Op5ZkVWtLW
– AFTV (@AFTVMedia) March 29, 2021
Arteta has often rotated between Aubameyang and Lacazette beforehand and both have offered him something different. The Frenchman’s greater ability to drop deep and receive the ball, lead a pressure more efficiently and connect games makes him a good alternative. The fact that Aubameyang in recent seasons has proven to be much more clinical makes it difficult for Arteta to overlook her captain.
Aubameyang’s greater pace and willingness to run behind is something that Lacazette has often struggled with, but a sharp and perfectly fit Martinelli with the right coaching can become a hybrid of the two and continue to be a more complete forward.
When studying some of the training videos that the club has released recently, many feel as if the transformation of Martinelli from a grown man to a midfielder could already be underway. At one point it is said that the Gunners are struggling financially, his change of role could make them save a lot of money and improve the team from a purely football perspective.
Odegaard as the young player at #Arsenal has impressed him the most: “We obviously have Bukayo & Emile & they already play so much. But I think a guy who has not played very recently is Martinelli. He is such a great talent, you see him train every day and you see it “pic.twitter.com/V4L4wOUYCV
– Gurjit (@GurjitAFC) March 26, 2021
During the second half of the season, there has been a lot of excitement about the club’s future prospects, especially Saka and Smith Rowe’s progress. But make no mistake about it, Martinelli is equally if not more talented than the couple and has the same role to play in the coming years.
Probably the club’s most exciting young signing since Cesc Fabregas, hit a brick wall for the Brazilian when he suffered a serious injury in June last year. It may have slowed down his rise to hero status in north London but it is only a matter of time before he makes his breakthrough and never looks back.
Arteta obviously does not see him as one of his best solutions in a broad situation right now but perhaps his plan for the youngster was to make him a center-forward all the time. Only time will tell if it comes to fear, but there will be very few among the faithful Gunners who do not believe he can lead the line for many years to come.
