How big a role could Gabriel Martinelli play this season if fit?

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By Oscar Maung-Haley


After an impressive 2019/2020 debut campaign for the Gunners, Gabriel Martinelli’s 2020/2021 season was hindered by injuries.

And with the new term on the horizon, Arsenal will be hoping that the 20-year-old can play a key role in helping the club's fortunes improve.

In June 2020, the Brazilian was ruled out for a prolonged period of time with a knee injury which kept him out of action until December.

But his return was hardly anything to shout about and come mid-February he was stuck on the bench.

In his debut season, Martinelli scored an impressive 10 goals in 26 appearances as an 18-year-old.

Last season, he managed just two in 22.

There can be no doubt that the Brazilian is a talented player and should be a key part of Arsenal’s plans moving forward.

If he can recapture some of his debut season form, Arsenal have a real gem of a player on their books.

One thing that could count against Martinelli this season is the fact that the Gunners are out of European competition.

The Europa League would have given Mikel Arteta plenty of opportunities to give the Brazilian game time, either as a leading man up front or coming in off the left-hand side.

Now, without it, Arsenal might be in a position to build upon a regular starting line-up that needs little changing.

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Given that Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s favoured position is out on the left and Alexandre Lacazette, while not everyone’s cup of tea, scored 17 goals in all competitions last season, 
Martinelli’s chances may be limited.

But even without Europa League football, an effort should be made to at least give Martinelli a decent to good amount of action.

Additionally, it should be noted that in the 2020/21 fixtures run-in, Martinelli featured in nine of 
Arsenal’s last 10 Premier League fixtures, which might be an indication of Arteta’s intentions.

There had been some suggestion from former Arsenal favourite Martin Keown that Martinelli did not feature as regularly because Arteta was not a fan.

But the Spaniard cleared that up and if his words are anything to go by, you can expect Martinelli to feature more this season should he stay injury free.

“I love Gabi so much, more than all of you together,” said Arteta when asked about Martinelli.

"Just look at how much he’s played in the last two years and how much he has played with me when he’s been available and then we can discuss that.”

By no means is this season sink or swim for Martinelli.

It must be remembered that he is still only just 20 years old.

If anything, this campaign is about getting back to that level of the 19/20 season and then trying to go beyond that.

Should he get more regular first-team minutes this season, it could be a breakthrough campaign for the Brazilian.


Photo Credits: Getty Images

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