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Kieran Horn

Former Man Utd ace delivers verdict on Gabriel Martinelli and Gabriel Jesus Arsenal goal drought

Aleksandar Mitrovic, Erling Haaland and James Maddison can all head into the World Cup break knowing they have been their respective clubs most impressive player so far this season. Deciphering that task among the current Arsenal squad however is far more tricky as there are several members of Mikel Arteta's squad who are having a great season.

Following his loan at Marseille last season William Saliba has been imperious in the Arsenal back line while Granit Xhaka's Gunners rejuvenation has been a joy to watch. Further up the pitch, Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli, Martin Odegaard and even Gabriel Jesus all have reasonable claims to the title of best performer of the season thus far.

Martinelli and Jesus were rewarded for their glittering form, earning spots in Brazil's World Cup squad, while Xhaka was confirmed as captain of Switzerland's 26-man squad on Wednesday

READ MORE: Arsenal and Edu fresh January transfer priority outlined after triple World Cup decision is made

While Saliba and Saka are expected to be likely inclusions with France and England as both nations are set to announce their 26-man squads over the next few days.

All of the aforementioned names have been a large part of Arsenal's blistering start to the season which has seen them fly to the top of the Premier League and former Manchester United defender Mikael Silvestre managed to narrow down his list of the Gunners' best performers to four names before settling on one.

Speaking to bettingexpert, he said: "For me, it is between Saliba, Martinelli and Xhaka. It is between those three. And even Ødegaard, he has got the armband so it’s just standard for him that he needs to be up there in terms of performances.

"That is why it is hard to pick because it shows how good they are individually. That is why they are at the top of the league. I would go for Martinelli because he has been creating, he has been scoring, and he is making all of the right-backs suffer."

Martinelli has been a shining light for the Gunners this season and has heavily benefitted from the movements of his Arsenal team-mates which allow him to make incisive runs from outside to in, helping him net five Premier League goals in 13 appearances.

A huge part of the difficulty defenders have had with the 21-year-old has been through the partnership he has developed with Jesus who often drops deeper to pick up the ball or drifts wide allowing Martinelli to use his electric pace in behind.

Jesus can certainly be considered a successful signing following his £45million move from Manchester City and while he adds an awful lot to the Arsenal attack he is currently on a significant goal drought, something that Silvestre believes is somewhat concerning.

"Gabriel Jesus. Not a weak link but a bit of concern for his goal scoring consistency," he said. "Because he is giving a lot to the team and sometimes, the final touch is not accurate, he is not making the right choice. Or he would force it. That is the only one but he is just dipping in form at the moment.

"But, thank god for them, they are creating chances and you have other goal-scorers. The strength of the team is going forward and scoring goals is not only on Jesus. Apart from that, I don’t see any weak parts."

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