Gabriel Martinelli is loved by Mikel Arteta but leaves Arsenal fans frustrated ahead of huge season for his future
TIME TO SHINE? Gabriel Martinelli is loved by Mikel Arteta but leaves Arsenal fans frustrated ahead of huge season for his future
GABRIEL MARTINELLI remains one of Mikel Arteta's most trusted and relied-upon players.
Since the Spaniard took over at Arsenal in December 2019, Martinelli has played 13,336 Prem minutes and started 152 games.
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Gabriel Martinelli is facing huge questions ahead of huge season for Arsenal
Credit: Getty
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Mikel Arteta now has the option of turning to Noni Madueke on the left wing
Credit: Getty
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Only Bukayo Saka [18,917 minutes and 218 starts], Martin Odegaard [15,280 minutes and 172 starts] and Gabriel [18,036 minutes and 201 starts] have featured more.
And during the past three seasons in which the Gunners have finished second, only Saka [205] has completed more Prem dribbles than Martinelli's 200, while the Brazilian has averaged 1.9 completed dribbles per 90 minutes, more than his English teammate [1.8].
The squad may be unrecognisable from the one Arteta inherited five-and-a-half years ago, but Martinelli has been a constant – keeping his place thanks to his immense work and commitment both in attack and defence, something that continues to tick Arteta's boxes.
In October 2019, two months before Arteta took charge, following a 5-5 Carabao Cup thriller at Anfield, Jurgen Klopp labelled an 18-year-old Martinelli as a 'talent of the century'.
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But nearly six years on, there are those who feel the 24-year-old is still yet to reach his potential, not kicking on in the way that many expected when he burst onto the scene following his £6m arrival from Brazilian outfit Ituano in July 2019.
Many viewed his 2022/23 campaign – scoring 15 Prem goals and five assists in 36 games – as the start of something special, only for Martinelli's form to drop off with just 14 goals and eight assists in his last 68 league outings.
It must be said that injuries hampered him last term, starting just 25 Prem games.
Before their friendly against Newcastle in Singapore last month, Arteta said: 'We always want better and more from every single player but Gabi has performed very well and very consistently in the past three or four seasons.'
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SunSport understands that, barring a mouth-watering offer from abroad, it is incredibly unlikely that Arteta will sign off on a Martinelli departure, as the winger is still viewed as a vital cog to his attack and a key figure in the dressing room.
And in their Prem opener at Old Trafford against Manchester United on Sunday, it would be a massive shock NOT to see Martinelli starting out on the left wing.
Arsenal make major change to Emirates stadium just days before new Premier League season
But with the £42m summer arrival of versatile winger Noni Madueke, 23, from Chelsea, there is a feeling that this is a huge season for Martinelli.
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The Brazilian will be desperate to return to the standards he has set in the past and prove his worth to hush the dissent from the stands and the shadow over his future.
In last weekend's 3-0 pre-season victory over Athletic Bilbao, Martinelli produced an assist.
But there remained groans and grumbles from Arsenal supporters demanding to see a more clinical edge to his game, a more polished performance from someone who is deemed to be an experienced first-team star, despite not yet turning 25.
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In contrast, Madueke's second-half cameo was promising – full of energy, creativity and unpredictability on the ball, producing an impressive cross from the left that should have been finished by another new-boy in Viktor Gyokeres.
Should Madueke continue to shine, Martinelli could be in a position where he is fighting for his place, something he has not been used to in his Arsenal career, even with the arrival of Leandro Trossard – the 29-year-old also linked with a move away in this window.
An incredible statistic emerged last season that is still ongoing: With 51 goals in 45 different matches in all competitions, when Martinelli has scored, Arsenal are yet to lose.
But there are those that point to the fact that in big games against the best sides in the Prem, Martinelli does not always make an impact.
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In six league games against Liverpool, he has four goals.
But the majority of his strikes have come against bottom-half sides, with five against Crystal Palace, three against Leicester and Aston Villa and two against Southampton and Everton.
And when it comes to average number of goals and assists per 90 minutes across his 208 games for Arsenal under Arteta, he has just 0.46.
Compared with those who have played 25 or more games for the club under Arteta, that is less than Raheem Sterling [0.47], Reiss Nelson [0.56], Fabio Vieira [0.57] and Nicolas Pepe [0.65].
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There are perhaps extenuating circumstances.
Saka has a galloping full-back, in Ben White, to create space for him, as well as Odegaard, who loves to link up down the right – a side that is the preferred route to attack.
In contrast, with Myles Lewis-Skelly usually inverting, Martinelli has often been left to fend for himself, to create something out of nothing in congested areas of the pitch with little to no support.
Regardless, Martinelli needs to rediscover that spark that saw him hailed as a generational talent as a teenager.
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If not, there is competition that could threaten his Arsenal stay.
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