Mikel Arteta has explained what is behind Gabriel Martinelli’s brilliant recent form for Arsenal, which has come in the aftermath of the Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang fallout.
Aubameyang was officially stripped of the Arsenal captaincy on Tuesday after breaching team rules by returning late from a personal trip to France to visit his mother.
He has been absent from the Gunners’ matchday squads since then and, while the incident has brought unwanted questions, it has had unexpected benefits.
Martinelli has been the main beneficiary of Aubameyang’s misdemeanour, with the 20-year-old forward stepping into the void in recent games.
The Brazilian has contributed four goals and two assists in his last six Premier League games, with his two strikes in the 4-1 win over Leeds on Saturday particularly impressive.
Arteta has been full of praise for his young striker recently and believes part of his form is down to his new-found maturity.
“You cannot play every action at 100mph, it is impossible,” he told the club website .
“It is not very efficient for you because you burn yourself out after a few minutes, and then you [are] just chasing a situation and not reading exactly what is needed.
“Gabi is doing much better at that. We have to try to do that without losing the passion, the energy and this capacity he has to just affect the game with the way he acts on the pitch.
“He trains incredibly hard, he is always willing to do more and he is not scared or afraid to take risks, and that is what I like about him.”
Martinelli has now started five games in a row for Arsenal, with his pace and calmness in front of goal standing out as clear assets for Arteta’s side.
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Arsenal have not let the Aubameyang situation distract them and are currently in fourth place in the Premier League on the back of three successive wins.
Alongside Bukayo Saka and Emile Smith Rowe, Martinelli has formed a youthful attack which has seen the side hit form.
Arteta has been delighted by what he’s seen from Martinelli, who has been hyped ever since joining Arsenal from Brazilian club Ituano in July 2019.
"I can imagine [playing against him], you're not going to have any time on the ball, every time the ball is 50/50 he is going to chase it and he's going to use his body, his speed, his technical ability to get away from you,” he added.
"You have to be careful, because he can attack you one v one, he can attack your back, he can make movements off the ball... he is a real threat in front of goal."
Despite his difficult personal situation, Aubameyang appears happy for his team-mate, given his recent post on social media .
"Gabinho," he wrote on Instagram, in reply to a post by the player celebrating Arsenal's 7,000th goal.
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