The Emperor’s new clothes? (Player Review Martinelli)
By Flava
March 3 2024
When evaluating our players I’m more positive than many posters on Arsenal Times.
I think every player in our squad has been branded as not being good enough at some point this season. ‘Rice doesn’t pass the ball forward’, ‘Odegaard goes missing in big games’. ‘White can’t do what Tomiyasu does’.
One of my many foibles is that if a footballer play for Arsenal I tend to overrate them. I still love Nicolas Pepe and I will die on that hill.
About 4 years ago I said that I wasn’t overly fond of Gabriel Martinelli. He would fall down 20 times a game in agony and was up and running around at 200mph five minutes later. He also had genuine injury issues which could not be helped. The way he lost the ball with his head down frustrated me and he’d ignore, or didn’t have the vision to see players who were in better positions.
Last season he made me eat my words with a string of breath-taking performances and a fantastic haul of 15 league goals, most strikers don’t get that type of return. However, this season the goals have dried up and the things that used to annoy me are once again coming to the fore. Perhaps they’ve always been there and the goals helped cover them up. Head down and dribbling into blind alleys, the lack of a left foot, the sloppy first touch, being marooned on the touchline and his lack of football IQ I find really bothering. I haven’t heard many people criticising him for the way he gave the ball away against Porto in the last minute. It had me and my son shouting at the TV, a truly brain dead moment that was punished in the severest fashion.
He has elite super powers of course. His turn of pace is electric and he’s a great finisher. I’m cognisant that he’s still only 22 and works hard for the team. He has the ability to go supernova but I don’t think we’ll ever see it. I can’t escape the Theo Walcott vibes Martinelli gives me.
This will undoubtedly come back to bite me on the backside when he’s converted to a striker and bangs in 35 goals a season and takes us to Champions League glory.
I hope Martinelli proves me wrong, it wouldn’t be the first time.
(PS this was written before some of fantastic build up play against Newcastle. However his shooting ability is still to match last season. Editor)
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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2024:03:08:04:38:00 by Padre Pio.
You get what you get with him.
But he's a player we definitely need without doubt.
He's a worry too other teams once he's named on the team sheet.
And he does get important goals at times.
"𝗜𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁. 𝗜𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘀𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗱, 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴."
I've always said he's a striker and I will stick to that.
The thing that annoys me most is he's stuck on the byline. You don't score goals from there.
I think you’ve answered your own concerns, when you reminded us that he’s still only 22yrs old mate.
Just because he’s cutting edge in the pace and skills department, doesn’t mean that inconsistency, inexperience and poor decision making doesn’t have a part to play in his game still.
In theory he’s 5 yrs from peeking.
What’s that going to be like?
Since the end of WW1, 1919, when the FA restarted its 4 tier football league, with Arsenal fc in the 1st div, there’s only ever been one club to have never been relegated from Div 1/ EPL.
Arsenal fc
Let’s keep making history
He's clearly getting better and better. His part in the Havertz goal against Newcastle is something you don't usually see from him. Or his blistering run against Konate, ending with a left footed cross that Saka should have buried.
I remember when Nasri turned 23, he had that amazing season. Martinelli is only going to get better.
"When we had to suffer the team is a lion because they suffer together." 4 July 2020 at Wolverhampton Wanderers
Arteta on his team's first away victory at a club above them in the Premiership since September 2015 at Leicester.
Has a chance to score a hatrick tonight.
Quote:Padre Pio
Your article has shifted his log jam
Good, I'll write one a week of it helps him score 😀
Martinelli was superb yesterday
Quote:GS1
Look what happens when he's not stuck in the byline.
Has a chance to score a hatrick tonight.
Much better. Kiwior playing and doing the occasional overlap is probably helping him when Zinchenko does the inverted thing meaning Martinelli is perhaps forced to keep the width
Time will tell whether Martinelli will move centrally like RvP.
Plus, is a versatile Saka ultimately a no. 10 when he moves centrally as well?
A different type of no. 10 like Francesco Totti?