Gabriel Martinelli's last minute equaliser shows why it is too early to write his Arsenal career off just yet.
Gabriel Martinelli's stoppage-time equaliser showed why it is too early to write his Arsenal career off just yet.
The Brazilian winger has had an excellent week, scoring and assisting in Arsenal's win over Athletic Club in the Champions League before earning the Gunners a valuable draw against Manchester City.
The winger has lost his starting place - starting two of Arsenal's six game this season - after a difficult time in his career but has shown just how important he can be when he is at his best.
"You can either sit there and sulk about things or you can actually have a look at yourself and think how am I going to affect the situation I am in," ex-Arsenal forward Theo Walcott told BBC Sport.
"I don't think he has ever been in this situation before, actually being constantly challenged in that position. He has had moments before when he has been on the bench but last year he was a starter, ultimately.
"This year he is kind of having to accept that he is going to be in and out, but he is definitely going about it in the right way because he is a hard worker, he is a grafter."
The 24-year-old is one of the quickest players in the Premier League and both his goals this week played to his strengths, with the ball is played behind the opposition defence for him to run on to.
"I work for those moments. I leave [selection] for the gaffer, he knows what he does. I just do my best to help this football club," said Martinelli.
"Of course, I don't want to be on the bench. I want to play 90 minutes every single game but [Mikel] Arteta knows what he does, he's the gaffer and everyone trusts him."
Martinelli has been low on confidence and has been aware of the debate about his place in the team.
"As a player, you also have to deal with the mixed messages that can be created in this kind of narrative, when you are not starting every game," added Walcott.
"So, obviously for Martinelli he scored after coming on [against Athletic Club] in midweek and he must have been thinking 'right I am going to start on Sunday' and then he sees Trossard start ahead of him.
"Again, how do you react to that? Do you sulk about it, or do you get on it? He obviously gets on with things."
Arteta has made clear, with Arsenal's strengthened squad after a £250m summer spend, that "finishers" are going to be as important as the starting XI.
"I actually thought the change was made too late, and even for someone of his ability, I always feel like he needs a bit of time to get involved in the game," said Walcott.
"It still worked, however, because he is the only one in that team who likes to run in behind and make those unselfish runs.
"What is pleasing is the end product, because it was a brilliant finish, but for Martinelli to have this kind of impact off the bench is more down to his attitude for me because that can go either way for a player in his situation."
Walcott says there have never been doubts over the Brazilian's quality, just over whether he should be a regular starter at Arsenal.
"He has seen who has come in, he has been linked with other clubs himself, but he has just got on with things and that says a lot about his character," added Walcott.
"He has never had someone who has been pushing him for that position before - he has now, and it is clever move by Arteta because it is getting something out of Martinelli that we have never seen.
"For me this is like an anger, a controlled anger that Martinelli is showing. It's like he is showing Arteta that he can trust him, which is important to know because managers love testing players throughout the whole season with the decisions they make."
Martinelli's team-mate Declan Rice also believes the winger can produce more of those moments for Arsenal as the season goes on.
"Ever since I've come to the club he delivered big moments. Some players can sulk if they get put on the bench but he shows his heart and desire," Rice said.
"The run and finish is unbelievable. He fully deserves it - you wouldn't meet a nicer guy. He's come on and produced a moment of magic."
Arteta's selection debate
Arsenal restricted Manchester City to just 32.8% possession in Sunday's match, which is the lowest possession average by a Pep Guardiola team in the Premier League.
And Arteta is the first manager to go five games unbeaten against a Guardiola side in his career, but there are still questions about whether Arsenal's manager picked the right team to start this match.
Arsenal lined up with Martin Zubimendi, Declan Rice and Mikel Merino in midfield and the Gunners struggled to create many openings in the first half, much to the frustration of the home crowd.
It is the same midfield trio that started the win against Athletic Club and the loss to Liverpool in the Premier League where Arteta's team selection was questioned.
Merino was withdrawn at half-time of the match with City, alongside Noni Madueke who had picked up a knock, but Arteta said it was not an admission that he had got his team selection wrong.
"No, too easy to say that." Arteta said. "I think it's very clear what we wanted to do.
"Very well we started the game, I think we completely dominated.
"I think after they scored in the goal without doing absolutely nothing before that, we were a bit shaky for five or seven minutes and after that we still got the grip of the game again and started to dominate it.
"In the second half it was a continuation of that with one different player and then with two or three different players."
Merino again started as an advanced midfielder for Arsenal and Arteta pushed back on the questions that his team was too conservative, given the attacking options at his disposal, saying: "Nobody asked me about the midfield three in Bilbao, nobody."
That resistance is fair considering Arsenal won the midweek game but it was the attacking players from the bench that made the difference.
Arsenal played with a lot more intensity after Bukayo Saka and Eberechi Eze were introduced at half time and their introduction added goal threat to go with the dominance that Arsenal had in the first half.
Category: General Sports
