Mikel Arteta was left with his head in his hands after what Gabriel Martinelli did during the first-half as Arsenal took on Bayern Munich on Wednesday.
Arsenal could definitely be happy with their first-half performance in the Allianz Arena. Of course, Mikel Arteta‘s men had a real point to prove after a difficult week, which included a 2-2 draw with Thomas Tuchel’s side in the first-leg.
It was a tense 45 minutes, lacking in any real quality when it really mattered. There were a couple of nervy moments for the Premier League title contenders.
But Arsenal also gave a good account of themselves. They put Bayern under real pressure and made life difficult for the home side as they looked to play themselves out of danger.
Gabriel Martinelli leaves Mikel Arteta with his head in his hands
And the best chance of the half fell to the visitors, and to Gabriel Martinelli.
Martinelli returned to the starting lineup, and he was set up superbly by Martin Odegaard. The Brazilian decided to use the inside of his left foot to try and test Manuel Neuer.
Unfortunately for the Gunners, the effort proved to be a tame one. Martinelli should have perhaps used his right foot for the strike as it ended up going straight at Neuer.
And BBC reporter Alex Howell noticed that Arteta was so disappointed with the 22-year-old.
“Mikel Arteta had his head in his hands after that chance for Gabriel Martinelli,” he wrote.
“The Arsenal forward will probably feel he should have done a lot better with it.”
Gunners crying out for composure in nail-biter
It was always likely to be a game which was decided by the finest of margins. Arsenal’s performance in the first-leg was uncharacteristically shaky; almost as if the Gunners realised just how close to greatness they could be this season.
And it was nervy again on Wednesday night – as Martinelli perhaps proved as he snatched at the brilliant first-half chance.
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