By all accounts, new Arsenal sporting director Andrea Berta will attempt to seriously upgrade Mikel Arteta’s options in attack next season.
Some reports have suggested that Andrea Berta and Arteta have been somewhat at loggerheads over who to sign at Arsenal, information that appears to be incorrect.
Berta and Arteta are working in unison behind the scenes, it’s not a case of the former wanting Viktor Gyokeres and the latter pushing for Benjamin Sesko in the Gunners’ pursuit for a new striker.
However, Arsenal’s ambition to sign a new left winger to upgrade on Gabriel Martinelli and Leandro Trossard is thought to somewhat stem from Berta.
The Italian arrived at the club with the idea to sign a proper upgrade on the left — something Arsenal’s recruitment team seemingly agreed with.
And with Arsenal interested in Rodrygo at Real Madrid, there could be a big-money signing on the horizon.
Gabriel Martinelli stars for Brazil after nod of approval from Carlo Ancelotti
However, Martinelli perhaps just proved with his performance for Brazil that he’s still the man that Arsenal should be betting on.
Martinelli started for Brazil in their 1-0 win over Paraguay in the early hours of Wednesday morning, Carlo Ancelotti’s first victory as the famous nation’s new manager.
Photo by NELSON ALMEIDA/AFP via Getty Images
Photo by NELSON ALMEIDA/AFP via Getty Images
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And Martinelli was given a chance on the left wing, playing alongside the likes of Matheus Cunha, Raphinha and Vinicius Junior in attack.
The Arsenal winger played the whole 90 minutes and was celebrated in Brazil for an excellent showing, a constant threat to Paraguay.
And although Arsenal want to sign Nico Williams or someone of a similar level, perhaps they would still be better off backing Martinelli as their starter, with Trossard on hand to come in.
Williams or Rodrygo would definitely be an exciting addition from an Arsenal fan point of view, but perhaps Berta is better off throwing all of those funds at a new striker — someone Martinelli can help thrive.
Andrea Berta might already be on the verge of a mistake at Arsenal
Of course, it should be mentioned that Arsenal want to give Martinelli a new contract — he’s not on the offload list by any means.
And perhaps the winger’s importance at Arsenal is underlined by CIES Football Observatory recently determining his value to be around €87m (£76m).
At 23-years-old, Arsenal already have a star player on the left side of their attack, and Berta might actually be making a hasty decision if he throws a ton of money at a replacement.
Added competition in attacking areas is needed at the Emirates, but it shouldn’t come at the expense of Martinelli’s progress, who was such a threat for Brazil against Paraguay.
The Brazilian proved why he could thrive alongside a box-crashing number nine — he’s constantly able to beat his man and get the ball into dangerous areas.
And as Arsenal carefully plot their summer ahead, perhaps they should plan to elevate Martinelli, rather than replace him.