Paul Merson has slammed Gabriel Martinelli after he made a detrimental mistake in Arsenal's 1-1 draw with Fulham. The Brazilian was deemed to be offside in the buildup to Bukayo Saka's disallowed goal in the 88th minute, which would otherwise have been the game winner.
Despite delivering an excellent cross for this teammate, Martinelli had strayed beyond the final defender before receiving a simple pass from midfield. It was an entirely avoidable error, and Merson noted that the manager will likely have been furious with the 23-year-old, as it was this unnecessary mistake which ultimately saw the Gunners drop vital points at Craven Cottage.
'Criminal' Martinelli Cost Arsenal the Win
The Brazilian's clumsy positioning ultimately led to Saka's winner being chalked off
Gabriel Martinelli celebrating against Liverpool.
Via Sky Sports, Merson could not stress enough the importance of maintaining safety from offside in the position Martinelli was in before receiving the ball in the build-up to the chalked-off goal. He said:
"He is offside and in football terms, it is criminal what Martinelli has done. I can't express enough how, in football terms, you just can't do that. You cannot be offside, you're looking along the line. You've got pace. He's electric, so he's not someone who's got to try and nick a yard and play right on the edge. He can give someone a yard or two."
"I'd be surprised if he ain't on the end of one in the dressing room when he gets in by the manager, honestly."
"You could see on his face after, he knew you can't do that. I've seen [Matheus Nunes] do that yesterday at Manchester City [vs Crystal Palace] and Kevin De Bruyne went mad."
"The one thing when you're looking along that line, do not be offside. It's as simple as that."
For a moment, it had looked like a stroke of genius from Mikel Arteta, as he had introduced Martinelli into the fold during the 60th minute as his side chased a winner. However, notwithstanding a brilliant pass to Saka, his elementary mistake rendered his entire performance largely unimpactful.
Gabriel Martinelli's 2024/25 Premier League statistics
Appearances
Minutes played
Goals
Assists
Shots per 90
Key passes per 90
Meanwhile, his teammates will also be ruing missed opportunities throughout the game, and with two points dropped, Arsenal face a steep hill to climb if they are to claw back the difference behind current league leaders, Liverpool, by the end of the season.
Mikel Arteta Related
Arsenal Must Upgrade £180k-pw Star After ‘Criminal’ Display vs Fulham
Arsenal were held to a frustrating 1-1 draw by Fulham in the Premier League - and one player's performance was labelled 'criminal'.
Statistics courtesy of FBRef.com - Correct as of 08/12/2024