Arsenal have failed to win against Fulham, and Sky Sports pundit Paul Merson has strongly criticised one Gunners player.
Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal played out a 1-1 draw with Fulham away from home at Craven Cottage in the Premier League on Sunday afternoon.
Raul Jimenez put Fulham in the lead in the London derby in the 11th minute when he latched on to Kenny Tete’s ball and fired past David Raya in the Arsenal goal.
Arsenal restored parity seven minutes into the second half. William Saliba converted Kai Havertz’s knockdown.
The Gunners thought that they had scored a late winner and picked up all three points from the London derby.
Bukayo Saka had the ball in the back of the net with a header from Gabriel Martinelli’s cross. However, the goal was disallowed after VAR adjudged that the Brazil international forward was in an offside position during build-up.
Gabriel Martinelli criticised after Arsenal draw with Fulham
Former Arsenal star Merson was following the match for Sky Sports, and he was hugely disappointed with Martinelli for being offside.
The pundit believes that Arsenal manager Arteta will not be happy with Martinelli either. Gunners legend Ian Wright has also given his take on the incident.
Merson said on Sky Sports: “He is offside, but in footballing terms, that’s criminal from Martinelli.
“You cannot be offside. You’re looking along the line. He’s got pace, he’s electric, so he’s not someone who trying to nick a yard and play right on the edge.
“I’d be surprised if he isn’t on the end of one in the dressing room by the manager because he even knows. You could see it on his face after, he knows you can’t do that.
“One thing when you look along that line – do not be offside. It’s as simple as that.”
Wright said on PremierLeagueProductions: “I have to give Martinelli credit. A winger can see all the way down the line, but the fact is he has to be onside, these are the margins we’re dealing with. We haven’t lost and that’s the main thing.”
Gabriel Martinelli’s game in numbers
Martinelli is one of the quickest players around, and the Arsenal and Brazil international forward should have timed his run better.
The 23-year-old forward would have practised that run numerous times in training, and the youngster will be disappointed with himself.
However, other than that one incident, Martinelli played well during his time on the pitch at Craven Cottage.
The Brazilian did not start the match. He came on as a substitute for Leandro Trossard in the 60th minute.
Martinelli linked up better with Jurrien Timber than Trossard did and was a problem for Kenny Tete.
While the youngster did not have a shot, he took 24 touches of the ball and put in five crosses, according to WhoScored.
However, none of those crosses was accurate. Martinelli also made one tackle and had a pass accuracy of 81.8%.