The Brazil international has yet to unlock his full potential at the Emirates Stadium, and could soon find himself on the fringes of the line up
Just over two years ago, Arsenal welcomed Nottingham Forest to the Emirates Stadium for their first Premier League game of the 2023-24 campaign. After a cagey first 25 minutes, Gabriel Martinelli conjured up the moment of magic his team were crying out for. There didn't look to be much on when the Brazilian picked the ball up on the left flank with two defenders closely tracking him, but he dribbled towards the byline before deceiving them both with an outrageous pirouette backheel pass to Eddie Nketiah, who subsequently shimmied inside and fired low into the net to give the Gunners the lead – with the aid of a slight deflection.
It was an instant assist-of-the-season contender that set Arsenal on their way to a 2-1 victory, a sublime piece of skill that very few players would even dare attempt, but Martinelli has always had that in his locker. The problem is, he hasn't pulled it out consistently enough.
Arsenal are preparing to host Forest again on Saturday, six years on from Martinelli's stunning introduction to English audiences, and he has yet to unlock his full potential. The enigmatic 24-year-old still has the capacity to be a match-winner, but more often than not, he frustrates with his decision-making and execution.
Time is now running out for him to change that. The summer arrivals of Eberechi Eze and Noni Madueke in north London have significantly increased competition in attack, while Leandro Trossard has agreed terms on a new contract, and Martinelli's position will come under serious threat if he continues to fall short with his end product. The former Ituano wonderkid has played a key role in Mikel Arteta's revolution to this point, but Arsenal need a lot more from him if they are to take the next step and get their hands on some major silverware.
Getty Images SportCrisis of confidence
On the plus side for Martinelli, he does still enjoy Arteta's full trust. Speculation over the winger's future raged throughout the summer transfer window, with Bayern Munich among the clubs credited with an interest in his services, but the Arsenal boss never considered letting him go.
“I think Gabi has been a super-important player for us and he's going to remain very, very, very important,” Arteta said before deadline day. “He’s needed, especially in the front line, to start the game and to finish the game. So, I’m very happy with what we have.”
That was a surprisingly strong vote of confidence considering how Martinelli has started the new season. He was substituted on the hour mark in Arsenal's 1-0 win at Manchester United after an ineffective display, and Arteta dropped him to the bench for their subsequent 5-0 thumping of Leeds United at the Emirates. Madueke struggled on his first start and also came off early against the newly-promoted side, which – coupled with an injury to Bukayo Saka – paved the way for Martinelli to return to Arteta's line up for the Gunners' trip to Anfield on August 31. He again failed to seize the opportunity.
Martinelli only managed 15 touches in his 70 minutes on the pitch and didn't complete a single dribble. In one particularly worrying first-half sequence, he sprinted out of Arsenal's half to lead a counter-attack and could have easily played in Viktor Gyokeres, but instead went alone and eventually ran the ball out for a goal-kick.
Arsenal fans are becoming all too used to that kind of wastefulness from Martinelli. He should have been able to make mincemeat of makeshift Liverpool full-back Dominic Szoboszlai, who scored Liverpool's spectacular winning goal in the game, but it turned out to be an easy afternoon for the Hungarian against a player who is clearly suffering from a crisis of confidence.
AdvertisementGetty Images SportMadueke offers more
Martinelli's mediocrity was symptomatic of Arsenal's collective effort against Liverpool, with Arteta's conservative tactics playing into the champions' hands. But the Gunners did have one bright spark in Madueke, who filled in on the right wing for the injured Saka.
The former Chelsea star gave Martinelli a lesson in how to attack your full-back as he tormented Milos Kerkez with his pace and guile. All of Arsenal's best moments went through Madueke as he shook off the nerves from his underwhelming full debut in impressive fashion. He certainly did enough to keep his place until Saka returns in a few weeks, and as we saw in the Leeds game, Arteta is not afraid to start them both, either.
Unlike Martinelli, Madueke is a two-footed player who is equally as dangerous on the outside as he is coming inside. Right now, he is a better fit for Arteta's system on the left; he'll commit defenders to create more space in central areas for chief creators Martin Odegaard and Declan Rice, and will also deliver crosses from that side for Gyokeres to feed on.
These days, it's far too easy for opponents to mark Martinelli out of the game, because he constantly looks to cut in on his stronger right foot and doesn't get his head up enough.
Getty Images SportElectric Eze
That all being said, the man most likely to take Martinelli's place is Eze, who joined Arsenal from Crystal Palace in a £60 million ($81m) deal on August 23. The 27-year-old came on for Martinelli in the final 20 minutes of the Liverpool clash, and gave the Gunners an instant lift with his incisive runs and slick passing.
Eze did squander a golden scoring opportunity, but was generally far more dangerous than Martinelli as he offered Arsenal something different. Like Madueke, Eze is a versatile player with great balance and deceptive strength who breaks through the lines regularly, while he's also an accomplished playmaker who is capable of opening up tight games in the blink of an eye.
Martinelli just doesn't match up in terms of imagination or penetration in his current guise. He is still a hard worker with bags of pace, but appears to have lost the fearless streak that made him so thrilling to watch in his earlier years at Arsenal.
Getty Images SportVictim of change
In fairness to Martinelli, Arsenal have not been set up to play to his strengths. His best season at the club came in 2022-23 as he delivered 20 Premier League goal contributions in 36 appearances, when Arteta played a far more expansive brand of football.
Martinelli thrived with plenty of space to drive into and built up a telepathic rapport with fellow countryman Gabriel Jesus. The former Manchester City man would often drift towards the touchline, which allowed Martinelli to get into central positions and wreak havoc. Jesus' persistent injury problems have, however, directly led to Martinelli's reduced impact.
He also linked up well with Granit Xhaka and Oleksandr Zinchenko on the left side during that stellar season, but both men have now left the club, while over the last two years, Arteta has also encouraged Arsenal to be more measured in their build-up play, while prioritising compactness in the middle of the park for more defensive stability. That tactical tweak led to Martinelli becoming just a cog in a well-oiled machine instead of a maverick operating off the cuff.
