Brazilian youngster Gabriel Martinelli has been highly praised following another exhilarating performance for Arsenal at the weekend.
The young forward opened the scoring for the Gunners at Elland Road with a well-placed right-footed drive before doubling his evening’s work with an exquisite lofted effort.
Despite having been struggling for Premier League minutes so far this season, the brace took his season tally to four goals and three assists so far in all competitions - all of those coming within his last six league outings.
The 20-year-old’s exhilarating displays are certainly not doing his hopes of more football for the remainder of the campaign any harm at all and Sky Sports pundit Jermaine Beckford believes that Martinelli is a player that Mikel Arteta should make full use of from now on.
Talking after the victory at Elland Road against his former side, Beckford said: “He’s [Martinelli] very exciting.
“In terms of his positional sense too he likes to drift in at times. He plays wide left of the front three up top. He times his run perfectly.
“His finishing is excellent and he has explosive pace, so quick. I think that’s something that Arsenal will be able to highlight more this season.”
Martinelli’s stunning run of form has come at the ideal time for Arsenal as they aim to re-establish themselves in the Premier League top four.
Current leading goalscorer Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has not been in contention for the Gunners for the past few matches for a ‘disciplinary breach’, whilst the Gabonese has also been stripped of the club captaincy.
In his absence, Mikel Arteta has also been highly complimentary of both Martinelli’s current displays and his long-term development.
Speaking after the clash in West Yorkshire, the Spaniard said: “He’s come a long, long way because his energy, his passion, his commitment, it doesn’t get much better than that ever, but there are other aspects in the game that he’s had to develop and maintain the ones that he’s exceptional at, like today, because when he has chances he puts them away. Again, he’s in the right direction.”
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