Journalist Charles Watts has now given his verdict on the recent struggles of one out-of-form Arsenal player.
As a team, Arsenal are currently in scintillating form. Since the turn of the year, the Gunners have played 16 Premier League games and have won 14 of them, only dropping points in a 0-0 draw on the road against Manchester City and a 2-0 defeat at the hands of Aston Villa.
Mikel Arteta’s side maintained their momentum, and their pace at the top of the Premier League table, with a 3-0 win against Bournemouth on Saturday afternoon.
Leandro Trossard got on the scoresheet against the Cherries. The Belgian attacker has been prolific in recent weeks, and has now made the starting berth on the left flank his own. Trossard has even been compared with Arsenal icon Freddie Ljungberg for the impact he is having in a Premier League title race run-in.
However, the 29-year-old’s blistering form has come at the expense of Gabriel Martinelli. The Brazilian winger’s last eight Premier League outings have all come as a substitute, and he has not been able to provide a goal or an assist in that time.
Charles Watts shares thoughts on Gabriel Martinelli struggles
Martinelli is one of the few big-name Arsenal stars who will look back on this entire season will some measure of disappointment. Across all competitions, the 22-year-old has only managed to chip in with 8 goals and 5 assists. This is a significant drop off from last season when he contributed 15 goals and 6 assists.
Charles Watts has now had his say on how concerned Arsenal fans ought to be about Martinelli’s form.
Speaking on his Inside Arsenal YouTube channel, the reporter said: “He’s not in the greatest of form at the moment. I think confidence is low for him, he obviously knows he’s behind Trossard in the pecking order at the moment, which might be pretty tough for him to take. He’s just not sharp.
“I’m not worried about it. I think next season he’ll be fine, he’ll be great…All players have little moments where they’re not that sharp.”
Why Arsenal must keep faith in Gabriel Martinelli
Martinelli will bounce back. If he can stay injury-free next season, he will surely feature heavily under Arteta. It is also worth remembering that he is still very young, and it is normal for players at such an early stage in their career to endure fluctuations in their form and output.
It is perhaps the misfortune of Martinelli to play on the opposite flank to, and therefore be compared with, Bukayo Saka, who racks up freakish numbers with regularity despite also being just 22-years-old.
Gabriel Jesus has hailed Martinelli as being a “special” player, and his quality and potential ought not be forgotten in the midst of his current slump.
