It was a great Saturday for Arsenal in the Premier League as they picked up all three points, and watched title rivals Manchester City lose again (this time to Aston Villa).
Travelling away to Crystal Palace, the Gunners cruised to a fine 5-1 victory at Selhurst Park. Fresh off the back of a midweek League Cup hat-trick vs the Eagles, Gabriel Jesus opened the scoring here too. Ismaila Sarr fired in an equaliser soon after but parity did not last long as the in-form Jesus made it 2-1 with a sharp finish.
Kai Havertz was then able to finish from close range to give Arsenal a 3-1 lead going in at the break. Palace threatened to make it difficult but goals from Gabriel Martinelli and Declan Rice sealed the three points.
It wasn't all positive, however, with Bukayo Saka forced off with an injury early in the first half. While it remains unclear for how long he will be out, the consolation for Mikel Arteta would have been watching Martinelli move over to the right wing and deliver the goods.
Martinelli Impresses vs Palace
'Stepped up after Saka was forced off'
Gabriel Martinelli stats vs Palace
While he started on the left flank, with Leandro Trossard on for Saka, Arteta asked Martinelli to move over to the right wing and he delivered a great performance for his manager. He had actually started brightly, winning the corner which led to Jesus' second goal, but took his display to a whole new level in this changed role.
Indeed, not only did the Brazilian bag a goal with a smart finish, redirecting Rice's shot into the back of the net, but he proved to be a constant threat. It was his cross which led to Havertz's goal but if that's not enough, the stats tell their own story.
Martinelli had three key passes in the game, the joint most on the pitch. On top of this, he also put in seven crosses, finding a teammate with four of them (including the one which led to Havertz's goal). He also worked incredibly hard, attempting 14 duels (the most of any player), and winning two tackles.
All in all, it was a fine day at the office for the 23-year-old who pulls in £180,000k-p/w. Lots of people noticed his impressive performance too. In the football.london player ratings, for instance, journalist Kaya Kaynak gave Martinelli an 8/10 and wrote: "Moved over to the right-hand side and looked more of a threat than in recent weeks. A good cross to create the second and a deserved stroke of luck with the goal."
He was also handed an 8/10 score in the London World player ratings, with journalist Toby Bryant noting: "Stepped up after Saka was forced off in the first half. Had the hunger to get in front of goal to poke home his goal and deserved that."
Martinelli's Chance to Kick-on
Has struggled for form recently
Arsenal's Gabriel Martinelli
The form of Martinelli had actually been quite worrying as he has not been able to manage a SofaScore match rating higher than 6.9 in any of his past seven Premier League outings. In that time he has scored just one league goal and delivered zero assists. As such, he had drawn the ire of even his own fans. Notably against Everton in the 0-0 draw, supporters were less than impressed as he struggled to get the better of 39-year-old Ashley Young.
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The team featured the likes of Theo Walcott, Micah Richards and a number of players that failed to fulfil their major potential.
Some have even called for him to be sold, while Paul Merson wanted him dropped for the match. However, playing on the right against Palace, he looked so much more lively and this could help him salvage his stagnating Arsenal career.
Indeed, he picked up a 7.2 SofaScore match rating for his efforts and admirably stepped up in the absence of Saka. Journalist Dan Critchlow took to social media to suggest he could be the perfect alternative in the squad to the Englishman, writing: "Martinelli on the right is looking like a good option if Saka is out for the coming games."
While all the headlines will focus on how Jesus has looked like a man reborn this Christmas, perhaps just as importantly, there is another Brazilian forward in the team who may have resurrected his Arsenal career in the same week.
Stats via SofaScore and Opta - correct as of 21/12/24.