Emile Smith Rowe’s excellent performance against Brentford could force Mikel Arteta to reconsider his striker situation, ahead of the next Premier League match against Wolves.
Smith Rowe was excellent on Saturday afternoon having come into the starting lineup to replace Gabriel Martinelli, who was suspended due to his red card in the previous Premier League match.
The Englishman topped off his quality performance against Brentford with an excellent solo goal in the second half, which should make him a certainty to start in the next match.
Martinelli has been excellent in recent weeks, so if Arteta wants to start both youngsters then the striker position could be the best option for the Brazilian.
Alexandre Lacazette currently occupies the forward role, however, he did not have the greatest performance against the Bees, and often failed to link up with the rest of the squad.
The Frenchman is yet to score in 2022 and has been guilty of missing chances he should be converting, meaning Arteta will need to address the forward situation sooner rather than later.
Smith Rowe’s statement display against Brentford should push Arteta into starting Martinelli as a striker against Wolves.
The Gunners already teased that Martinelli would be used as a striker during Arsenal’s recent winter camp.
The official Arsenal Twitter account posted a video on social media captioned “serious finishing” with the fire emoji next to it, and Martinelli is the first player on the video to score a goal.
The Brazilian already played in a more central forward role earlier this season during the Gunners' 2-0 defeat against Chelsea at the Emirates stadium.
However, his lack of impact in that match should not cloud over Arteta’s decision to play him there in the future, as the line-up against Chelsea was very weak due to injuries and the Covid-19 situation.
Jurgen Klopp has already chimed in on the potential of playing Martinelli as a striker as described the 20-year-old as being an “Incredible striker.”
The Liverpool manager said this during the 2019/20 season in the Carabao Cup, as the Brazilian scored a brace in an end-to-end 5-5 clash against his Reds side.
Martinelli scored four goals in 14 Premier League games this season, which was the same amount as Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in identical games before he departed the club for Barcelona, showing that the Brazilian has the pedigree to play in that position.
And with Lacazette’s failure to score, and Smith Rowe’s magnificent performances, it bodes the perfect opportunity for Arteta to reconsider his striker options.
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