Gabriel Martinelli: The Grift Of The Gab

[Menard]

I don't really get the CF shouts for him...he can’t drop deep and link play because he's not very good, he's not physical enough to compete with CBs for balls into feet...he's a nonentity in the air. The only thing he offers is pace running in behind and I dont see any reason that'd be more effective from CF than it would from wide. It'd basically be like playing a man down and would also negate his tracking back of fullbacks which is the only positive he currently offers.

 

[ksarp]

I don't really get the CF shouts for him...he can’t drop deep and link play because he's not very good, he's not physical enough to compete with CBs for balls into feet...he's a nonentity in the air. The only thing he offers is pace running in behind and I dont see any reason that'd be more effective from CF than it would from wide. It'd basically be like playing a man down and would also negate his tracking back of fullbacks which is the only positive he currently offers.

Probably because he can exploit space and has speed, inside the box that could be handy.

 

[Riou]

This is how far he has fallen...




... reminds me of Walcott and Jenkinson getting in a fight during the 8-2 to United, after Theo wasn't happy with Carl's positioning during the game.

If Walcott of all people is calling you out on these things, then it's time to retire Gabby...you are now the Samba Carl Jenkinson ffs

 

[Gooner Zig]

This is Clive's way of saying Martinelli is ****, which is saying something as he always looks for the positives in our players.

 

[2Smokeyy]

This is how far he has fallen...




... reminds me of Walcott and Jenkinson getting in a fight during the 8-2 to United, after Theo wasn't happy with Carl's positioning during the game.

If Walcott of all people is calling you out on these things, then it's time to retire Gabby...you are now the Samba Carl Jenkinson ffs

Walcott is a cuckk, he’s still beating around the bush with who this falls on due to him being in his ambassador role for the club. Mute the TV when he speaks about football as his analysis is similar to Michael Owen.

People laughed and thought it was disrespectful when Djed Spence done the below but he wasn’t wrong as I’m sure many fullbacks in the PL can be in a slump yet pick up form when they face him. Not even sure why they set up Nelli like this:

 

[Riou]

When can we stop making excuses for the manager that ruined Martinelli though?

 

[DJ_Markstar]

When can we stop making excuses for the manager that ruined Martinelli though?

The same manager that helped Saka become a world class player?

 

[High Elbow]

Should only be used as a defensive sub now. Madueke has more pace and trossard has more skill. 5th choice winger now and this should really be his last season. Feel bad saying so coz he seems like nice kid but then i remember he is on like 200k a week or something

 

[Gooner Zig]

Should only be used as a defensive sub now. Madueke has more pace and trossard has more skill. 5th choice winger now and this should really be his last season. Feel bad saying so coz he seems like nice kid but then i remember he is on like 200k a week or something

Yeah I said in another thread that he's now a situational player at best. Should be no where near the starting XI.

 

[Riou]

The same manager that helped Saka become a world class player?

That was Ljungberg, in my humble opinion.

 

[HattoriHanzo]

That was Ljungberg, in my humble opinion.

Of course, it make sense that manager who trained and played him 3-4 matches made him world class.
Definitely not manager who trained and played him more than 5 years

Btw., why was Martinelli good 2-3 seasons ago?
Who trained him then?

 

[Riou]

Btw., why was Martinelli good 2-3 seasons ago?
Who trained him then?

I actually think it was Edu training him, per my source.

 

[HattoriHanzo]

I actually think it was Edu training him, per my source.

Edu?

I don't have time for this.
My mistake that I even started conversation.
Bye.

 

[Riou]

My mistake that I even started conversation.
Bye.

 

[Dennis_Bergkamp_10]

Found another great moment where the system and our left hand side fails him.

Have we sold him yet?

 

[Yousif Arsenal]

How was his performance with Brazil yesterday? Did Ancelotti freedom football saved him?

He started yesterday

 

[Yousif Arsenal]

Yeah Same BS with Brazil it's like watching him at Arsenal no difference.

 

[A_G]

He might be struggling for form in an Arsenal shirt, but Gabriel Martinelli is currently starting for Brazil.

In the absence of Vinicius Junior, who is unavailable through suspension, Martinelli started on the left wing in Brazil’s 3-0 World Cup qualifying win over Chile on Thursday.

Real Madrid’s Rodrygo, coveted by many Arsenal fans across the summer, was left out of the squad entirely. Martinelli played 70 minutes as part of an all-Premier League front line with Chelsea’s Estevao and Joao Pedro.

An appearance at the Maracana may have provided Martinelli with some welcome respite. In England, his adopted home, he has been the subject of considerable criticism.

After Arsenal squandered a number of transitional opportunities against Manchester United, one moment from the team’s 1-0 defeat by Liverpool last weekend has become a social media meme.

Many Arsenal fans hoped to see new signing Eberechi Eze start the match on the left, but Mikel Arteta stuck with Martinelli.

During the first half, the Brazilian broke over the halfway line, with Victor Gyokeres running into space ahead of him. Martinelli declined to release the Swede, instead continuing with a dribble that ultimately petered out into nothing.

That’s how it’s been for Martinelli of late. He’s trying — that much is clear — but the execution is off.

Attackers often produce their best football when playing off the cuff, when trusting their instincts. In an Arsenal shirt, Martinelli frequently looks like a player attempting to adhere to instruction — a natural improviser who’s been given lines to learn.

That’s perhaps an explanation for his recent performances, but not an excuse. There is no doubt that his productivity has dipped, and his development has plateaued. Arsenal is a club which has come a long way in a short space of time — the likes of Aaron Ramsdale, Oleksandr Zinchenko and Gabriel Jesus have been signed, integrated, then sacrificed on the altar of progress.

With Martinelli struggling for form, there are concerns he could become the next victim of Arsenal’s ongoing evolution.

From a tactical perspective, he continues to attend to many of the details demanded of him. Some raised eyebrows at his selection at Anfield, but there are few wingers as disciplined or hardworking as Martinelli. Arteta knows he can rely on him to perform his defensive duties.

But has that come at a cost? An attacker who once fizzed with ideas and imagination has lost his spark. At 24, he is danger of maturing into a functional forward rather than a dangerous one.

For many Arsenal fans, this dilemma is at the centre of Martinelli’s recent struggles. He remains one of the fastest players in the Arsenal squad — but his quick thinking and quick feet have deserted him.

Martinelli was the subject of considerable speculation this summer. Arteta was open to refreshing his options on the left wing, with the likes of Rodrygo and Nico Williams discussed as alternatives.

If Arsenal were looking to sell Martinelli, that was never directly communicated to the player’s camp. Sporting director Andrea Berta made clear in a meeting in spring that the club intended to keep their best players, and counted Martinelli among them. There was no further dialogue about a potential exit.

Equally, there have not been any discussions about an extension to his current contract. His deal expires in 2027, but Arsenal have the security of an optional additional year until 2028. Bayern Munich considered Martinelli among their options for the left-wing position, but ultimately went for Liverpool’s Luis Diaz. There was tentative interest from Saudi Arabia and Aston Villa in Martinelli, but neither progressed.

If Arsenal had received a tempting offer for the Brazilian, they would have been open to considering a sale, but no such offer was forthcoming. That was no issue for the club, who still envision an important role for Martinelli in the squad.

But the arrivals of Eze and Noni Madueke — as well as the continued availability of Leandro Trossard after he agreed a new contract — do put Martinelli’s position under greater threat.

Arsenal aspire to compete on multiple fronts this season. There is likely to be some game time for everyone. If, however, Martinelli’s performances do not see an upturn, he may find regular starts more difficult to come by than ever before.

Some onlookers argue that Martinelli has simply hit his ceiling; that Arsenal have now reached a level that eludes him. But could there be a stylistic issue at play?

The Martinelli of 2022-23 scored 15 goals and made six assists in just 36 Premier League games, but the Arsenal of 2022-23 were a very different team: more chaotic, more transitional, perhaps more liberated. Arsenal have become more secure, more controlled, more structured. Their dominance of the pitch means less and less space to exploit in the final third.

That doesn’t play to Martinelli’s strengths. Perhaps Arsenal haven’t evolved beyond Martinelli, but simply away from him.

Arsenal are currently going through another stylistic shift. Arteta’s idea is to become more direct and more transitional, in order to supply new centre-forward Gyokeres with one-on-one opportunities. If Arsenal are able to make that shift, Martinelli could be another major beneficiary. Criticism of his decision-making on the ball is valid — but running in behind, he is a different player.

There is a coaching question here, too: if Martinelli’s final-third execution is off, is that something that can be corrected on the training ground? What are Arteta and his staff doing to hone his technique, improve his decision-making and sharpen his instincts?

Perhaps Martinelli can take some ownership of that too. Since 2021, Madueke has worked with individual skills coach Saul Isaksson-Hurst to polish his one-on-one abilities. What can Martinelli do to kickstart his own development?

It is too early, too soon, too wasteful to consider Martinelli a lost cause; to decide this recent slump is irreversible. The transfer window is now closed. Martinelli is likely to remain at Arsenal for another season at least. What can be done to reverse the trend, improve his performances, and potentially maximise his value?

In the yellow of Brazil, Martinelli seemed to play with a little more freedom. Instead of being glued to the touchline, he drifted infield to more central areas.

And there was one moment in which the Martinelli of old flickered into life — driving in from the left-hand side, he dragged his foot over the ball before kicking it back between the full-back’s legs. His shot hit the side netting, but the confidence and skill was a reminder of what Martinelli can do, what Arsenal have seemingly lost, and what they hope to recapture.

 

[Rasmi]

I said in the summer if he stayed this season his reputation would be completely destroyed and he could suffer so much he never recover. He had to go in the summer. But once again the club kept a player too long. At some point this season he will get abused by Arsenal fans

 

[OnlyOne]

Who the f*ck does GunnarBlog think is asking for trash articles like this?