Gabriel Martinelli got on the scoresheet for Arsenal in the game against Newcastle on Saturday afternoon and it could pose questions for Mikel Arteta’s striking options going forwards.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang started the match against the Magpies but struggled, which was epitomised with his open goal miss in the first half before he was eventually substituted towards the end.
Martinelli came on in the second half and made an instant impact with an excellent first-touch finish from a Takehiro Tomiyasu assist.
With an emerging striker crisis approaching Arsenal, Martinelli has thrown himself into the mix and highlighted that he must not be forgotten about.
The Brazilian has struggled for game time under Arteta this season and has not started a Premier League fixture since Arsenal’s 2-0 defeat to Chelsea in August.
When the youngster initially joined the club he was highly rated and had received a lot of praise for performances after his arrival.
But he suffered a serious knee injury in 2020 whilst in great form and has struggled to break into Arteta’s side ever since.
However, with Arsenal set to be short on strikers due to Alexandre Lacazette and Eddie Nketiah’s contracts running down, Martinelli could take advantage of this as both players look set to leave the club.
If they do depart it would leave Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Folarin Balogun as the only senior strikers at Mikel Arteta's disposal.
Martinelli has played as a striker before and that was proved during the 2019/20 season against Liverpool in the Carabao Cup when he scored a brace in an end-to-end 5-5 clash.
After full-time, The Reds manager Jurgen Klopp described the Brazilian as being an “Incredible striker.”
The notion of Martinelli being a striker as he continues to grow was echoed by a former Gunners forward Speaking on BT Sport as a pundit, with Robin van Persie believing that they could follow a similar career path.
“The moves he makes, he is always looking for space. I was playing on the wing at that age. With time he will get even better," the Dutchman said.
Arsenal have a decision to make on how they are going to solve the upcoming striker problem, but Martinelli’s cameo against Newcastle highlights that he could be an intriguing option that Arteta goes for in attack.
Make sure you have subscribed to The Arsenal Way and the Fan Brands team along with plenty of your football.london favourites will be producing daily Arsenal content for you to enjoy including match reactions, podcasts, football fun and interviews.
