After a few uninspiring draws in recent weeks, Arsenal have arguably got their season back on track following back-to-back victories over Crystal Palace.
Gabriel Jesus has five goals in two games and Arsenal’s attacking play is finally demonstrating the kind of ‘je ne sais quoi’ that’s been missing of late.
Mikel Arteta’s side have their fun factor back again when going forward, and the likes of Jesus, Gabriel Martinelli and Bukayo Saka were all key to an excellent win at Selhurst Park.
Unfortunately, it now seems as if Arsenal will be without Saka for much of the festive period given what looked to be a fairly significant hamstring injury against Palace.
But perhaps Arsenal already have the perfect replacement ready and waiting in the meantime.
Gabriel Martinelli ready for new Arsenal role after Bukayo Saka injury
Once Saka needed to come off in the 24th minute, Arteta introduced Leandro Trossard on the left and shifted Martinelli out to the right, something that worked brilliantly.
Martinelli has struggled at Arsenal at times this season – he’s been unable to reproduce some of his form from season’s past.
Gabriel Martinelli of Arsenal celebrates scoring his team's fourth goal during the Premier League match between Crystal Palace FC and Arsenal FC at...
Photo by Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC via Getty Images
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However, out on the right wing against Palace, the Brazilian looked reborn – he had a certain rawness back to his game.
Martinelli wasn’t overthinking things, he was simply running at this man down the right and getting to the bye line.
It almost felt as if the winger’s task had become simplified and he was then able to use his pace a lot more effectively.
Put bluntly, Martinelli proved that he may have been playing in the wrong position for Arsenal of late, and now he could be crucial in filling Saka’s void.
Who can replace Bukayo Saka at Arsenal?
Jamie Carragher shared his Saka replacement plan following Arsenal’s excellent 5-1 win in south London.
It’s obviously not going to be an easy task, especially given that Arteta also confirmed that Raheem Sterling has picked up a knock, explaining why he wasn’t in Saturday’s squad.
Therefore, Martinelli could be absolutely crucial on the right over a busy run of games for Arteta, when he suddenly doesn’t have a lot of options on the wing.
Perhaps Jesus could also play out wide, but Arsenal will be mindful of disrupting the Brazilian right now, who’s scored more goals in two games than in recent memory altogether.
Arsenal fans had their say on Martinelli, and it’ll now be interesting to see how Arteta handles the coming weeks, and potentially even months without Saka.
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