Martinelli impresses but where is Saliba? What we learned from Arsenal 1-4 Man City

Martinelli impresses but where is Saliba? What we learned from Arsenal 1-4 Man City 

By Paul Martin

Any hopes Mikel Arteta had of using a cup run to paper over league cracks were comprehensively dashed last night as Manchester City became the latest side to stroll to victory at The Emirates.

To their credit, Arsenal showed character to equalise after going behind but a howler from Alex Runarsson early in the second half proved a turning point and the visitors were in cruise control for the remainder of the contest.

The Gunners remain without a domestic win since November 1 and in truth that run showed little sign of ending last night.

As we reflect on yet another defeat, here are three things we learned from the Carabao Cup quarter-final…

Goalkeeping back-up a priority

From the moment Alex Runarsson was caught in no man's land for Manchester City's early opener, it was a shaky night for the Icelandic stopper.

He made a decent save to deny Gabriel Jesus later in the half but that was about as good as it got for the 25-year-old, who let Riyad Mahrez's free-kick slip through his grasp and arguably committed too early for Phil Foden's dinked finish shortly afterwards.

Plenty of blame will fall on the goalkeeper but this is another problem that can be laid at the club rather than one individual.

This is a player who featured 11 times for Dijon in Ligue 1 last season, is not Iceland's first choice and was brought in as a last-minute option after Emiliano Martinez left in the summer.

The lack of foresight in the transfer market is again costing Arsenal dearly and ultimately it is unsurprising Runarsson appeared out of his depth.

Where is Saliba?

Mikel Arteta's frustrating reliance on experienced players who continue to under-perform shone through again last night in the decision to pick Shkodran Mustafi at centre-half.

You know what you are going to get from the German international and it's invariably not good enough. 

His performance did little to change any perceptions. Arsenal and Arteta are at a point where things can hardly get much worse, so why not at least see what William Saliba can offer?

The 19-year-old has been talked up as one of the best defensive prospects in Europe and showed enough promise for Arsenal to spend £27 million on him – yet he is nowhere to be seen.

It appears he may go out on loan in January for some much-needed first team football and it would not be altogether surprising to see him end up performing more consistently than Arsenal's existing defensive options.


Martinelli offers hope

It was not all doom and gloom last night – for a change – with the performance of Gabriel Martinelli showing once more what a talented prospect he is.

Making just his second appearance of the campaign due to injury, the 19-year-old looked bright throughout and set up Alexandre Lacazette's opener with an excellent cross.

Naturally, even the positive has to come with a down side, with Martinelli forced off injured early in the second half and Arteta must learn from the Thomas Partey debacle by giving the youngster time to fully recover.

Arsenal fans must also be wary about piling too much pressure on the teenager who, along with Bukayo Saka, risks being weighed down with the responsibility of providing a creative spark in an often lifeless team.

But Martinelli's display provided a glimmer of hope on another difficult night and let's be honest, those are rare to come by at the moment.

Photo credit: Getty Images

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