Gabriel Martinelli has not necessarily been in top form this season. He has had moments, but it has been a disappointing season for the Brazilian. However, he is slowly finding some form recently and has also received praise from manager Mikel Arteta for it. The praise came after Gabriel Martinelli’s exceptional hat-trick in the FA Cup against Portsmouth. Against a championship team, fans expected Arsenal to be flawless from start to finish. However, the Gunners started in the worst way possible by conceding in just the third minute. But Martinelli came to their rescue as Arsenal won comfortably in the end.
Gabriel Martinelli this season
Martinelli has been a mainstay in the Arsenal squad for quite a while now. He made the move to North London way back in 2019 from Brazilian club Ituano. The 24-year-old has been at the club for close to seven seasons now. In these seven seasons, Martinelli has had multiple great moments. He was instrumental in Arsenal’s transformation from being a mid-table club to a regular title challenger. The Brazilian was in great form during the 2022/23 season. He scored an impressive 15 goals and assisted 6 times that season. That was also the season Arsenal broke into the top 4 and challenged for the title for the first time in a very long time.
However, this season has been truly disappointing for Martinelli. He seems to be lacking the flair and creative ability he is known for. The technically gifted winger has managed to score just one Premier League goal this season. Furthermore, SofaScore statistics say that Martinelli has not created a single big chance in the league this season. That is a shocking stat for a player who is expected to be a creative and attacking weapon for Arsenal.
Gabriel Martinelli receives praise
After the Portsmouth game in the FA Cup, Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta was asked about hat-trick hero Martinelli. And his response truly showed how much the Spaniard believed in Martinelli.
He told Arsenal.com, “I love it, because of every context that you throw him in. Sometimes he doesn’t play, sometimes he performs well or not well the next one. Today he scored three goals, tomorrow he’s going to train a hundred miles an hour. He’s not going to change that – and that’s Gabi.” Arteta was also asked if he believed in Martinelli’s heading abilities, to which he responded, “I do, because he is very good. His timing in the box is really good, especially when in certain spaces, and yesterday he was talking about it.”
There was renewed belief in Martinelli amongst the Arsenal fans after the Portsmouth game and Arteta’s comments. Arteta also started Martinelli in their game against Chelsea in the Carabao Cup following his hat-trick. But Martinelli provided disappointing returns in the game, failing to score or assist in a high-scoring affair.
Martinelli’s future at Arsenal
Gabriel Martinelli most likely faces a doubtful future at Arsenal as well. Arsenal are constantly being linked with wingers. That can mean only one thing: Arsenal are looking to move on from Gabriel Martinelli. It is perfectly understandable as well. The Gunners are now a team that is challenging for both the Premier League and the Champions League. So in order to achieve that level of success, they will need to be flawless across all areas in the squad. Arsenal are strongly linked with Wolves prodigy Mateus Mane, who could potentially replace Gabriel Martinelli.
Conclusion
Gabriel Martinelli received rightful praise and credit from Arteta after his exceptional performance against Portsmouth. But that performance and the praise would be worthless if he continues to remain inconsistent with his performances. The remainder of this season is going to be extremely important for Martinelli.
As featured on GoonerNews.com