Arsenal winger Gabriel Martinelli has come under plenty of criticism in recent months, but he answered the doubters with a goal and assist in the Champions League on Tuesday night. Writing in his exclusive GIVEMESPORT newsletter, Fabrizio Romano has shared how the Gunners feel about the Brazilian forward international after his important contribution.
Martinelli has found his way out of Mikel Arteta's starting XI over the last couple of games, with Eberechi Eze being deployed as a left-sided attacker. His place in the side is no longer guaranteed after the signing of Eze, while Noni Madueke can also play in this position.
Against Athletic Club on Tuesday night, Eze started the game for the Gunners, but with the scoreline at 0-0 heading into the final stages, Arteta opted to bring on Martinelli. The Brazilian winger scored just moments later, before providing an assist for Leandro Trossard to seal a 2-0 victory.
Fabrizio Romano: How Arsenal Feel About Gabriel Martinelli
Gabriel Martinelli in action for Arsenal
Writing in his exclusive GIVEMESPORT newsletter, Romano has shared how Arsenal feel internally about Martinelli after his important contribution in the Champions League this week. The GIVEMESPORT correspondent said that the Gunners are 'very happy' with Martinelli, with the forward having a 'top mentality'...
"Very happy. Top mentality, coming off the bench in fantastic way. Arsenal are very happy with Gabriel."
Arsenal might be happy with Martinelli, but it will be interesting to see how he feels if he continues to be utilised as a squad rotation player, rather than a guaranteed starter. His performance against Athletic Club could be enough for him to break back into the starting XI, but it's also difficult to see Arteta dropping Eze.
Martin Odegaard missed the Champions League clash this week due to injury, and after Martinelli's display, we could see Arteta try and play both Eze and Martinelli in the same side at the weekend. Eze could come into more of a central role in the absence of Odegaard, but Arteta might be looking for someone with more defensive nous in the middle of the park, considering they are facing Manchester City.
Arteta will be absolutely delighted to see the impact of Martinelli, and although he might have some selection headaches in attack, it's nice for the Spanish manager to have some depth and competition in multiple positions. GIVEMESPORT senior correspondent Fabrizio Romano previously confirmed that Bayern Munich were seriously considering the possibility of signing Martinelli in the summer transfer window, but they wanted to keep him at the club.