Gabriel Martinelli has struggled to find form in the first few matches despite having started most of the matches.
Arsenal are one of the title contenders for this season alongside Man City and Liverpool. And Gabriel Martinelli is among the starters for Mikel Arteta’s team. Despite being featured consistently on the starting eleven the Brazillian winger has failed to register a single goal in the first five matches this season. Not a matching stat for an attacker player for one of the title contenders in Arsenal. They are unbeaten in the season but have failed to win on two occassions. In a very tough league like the Premier League each point and each goal are valuable. Martinelli really needs to turn it around a start finding some goals or else he is going to get replaced.
GABRIEL MARTINELLI TIME WITH ARSENAL
Martinelli signed for Arsenal five years ago from Ituano. He hit the ground running and made a name for himself swiftly. His incredible pace and sharp shooting quickly made him one of the crucial players for Arsenal in their title charge for the past couple of seasons. All Arsenal fans would remember his blockbuster debut for the Gunners where he scored a brace against Nottingham Forest in the FA Cup. He always came up with some magic which made him a favorite for Mikel Arteta. Not only his attacking flair but also his work rate throughout the match remains consistent. For example in their match against Tottenham Hotspurs last sunday Martinelli and Saka were praised for their defensivce work rate. Bukayo Saka started as a defender but not Martinelli. He worked hard and consistently on a off the ball.
But as an attacker everyone expects him to be on the scoresheet or atleast provide assists during the matches. In a very competitive title challenge like in the Premier League every game is important and every point is very crucial. So Arsenal might need him to get on the score sheet soon or they might look on the bench for options.
MARTINELLI VS ATALANTA
Arsenal travelled to Atalanta for their opening encounter in the 2024/25 UEFA Champions League season. Gunners travelled to Italy with the confidence of a victory against rivals and hoping to make a good start. We all know how the Italian teams play football. Their default position begins from defending. Atalanta as always played a man marking tactics throughout the game. So chances came at a lower rate for both teams. Arsenal carved out a few chances but missed the target. Unfortunately Gabriel Martinelli was at fault to miss a couple of golden chances. Against a very defensive team like Atalanta every team need to capitalise on their chances. Declan Rice admitted that Atalanta are a ‘tough team to crach’.(Sky Sports)
The best chance of the game fell to Atalanta from the spot which was saved brilliantly by David Raya. If that was scored Arsenal would have lost their opening match and Martinelli would have been in more problem. Eventhough Martinelli remains a favorite to Mikel Arteta as an attacker he should find more goal contributions if Arsenal are hoping to challenge Man City for the title. Anyway his attacking work rate might be compromised when his defensive responsibilities get in the way. But until Martin Odegaard returns Arteta might opt to remain in the same defensive set up which is working well enough for the team.
WHAT NEXT FOR ARSENAL AND MARTINELLI?
Arsenal are set to face title challengers Man City in a crunching clash at the Etihad Stadium. Both teams hoping to make a statement claim on the title challenge. City have a perfect record so far in the league while Arsenal dropped points at home against Brighton. Both teams are on the back of a really tough time in the Champions League. Gunners survived against Atalanta while City were frustrated at home against Inter Milan. Martinelli is again expected to start on Sunday.
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