Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang departing Arsenal without the acquisition of a replacement seemed like a risky situation for the club to put itself into especially with their other options not exactly hitting the high goalscoring figures either.
Arsenal had just two senior forwards in Alexandre Lacazette and Eddie Nketiah. However, the latter’s lack of senior success led rise to the worry of an injury to the Frenchman costing the Gunners their top-four chances.
It was therefore unsurprising for football.london to learn that Gabriel Martinelli had been operating centrally in training. A backup option should Lacazette befall an unfortunate injury meaning an extended spell on the sidelines.
When deployed on the left, Martinelli was paired with Kieran Tierney. Individually both players are great talents. Together, there begin to emerge problems.
Martinelli’s ball carrying style and wide forward play mean Tierney overlaps far less than paired with Emile Smith-Rowe. The England international’s positioning is more central compared to the Brazilian allowing Tierney greater scope to overlap and combine.
Granit Xhaka is the buffer in between and Mikel Arteta has addressed the Swiss’ importance to both players.
"It is a connection there," Arteta said in May 2021 regarding Xhaka and Martinelli’s combination play.
"I think having Granit behind him helps him in a way because he’s more in the line, in the last line, on the left when he is more comfortable.
"With Kieran it’s a little bit different. Those relationships we have to feel."
However, Martinelli played in Emile Smith-Rowe’s place and scored against Watford in the 3-2 win at Vicarage road.
Ahead of Sunday’s game with Leicester City, Arteta was again asked on the topic and admitted that since he was last questioned during the previous season, the pair’s understanding is ‘growing’ and improving their relationship.
“It’s growing because the more they experience match situations and training situations together, that chemistry and that understanding and those timings and those spaces will click more naturally, and I think this is happening,” he said.
However, for the relationship to continue to improve, Martinelli would need to remain playing in the wide left position for a consistent period. Therefore, his possible future as a number nine would be unlikely to develop.
This is not all that surprising considering football.london understands that Arsenal are preparing to target two centre-forwards in the summer to replace the mass exodus of players in the position come June.
A significant investment in the role would therefore make little sense to push Martinelli more towards the middle. It remains an option born from versatility rather than design and this is good for the Gunners.
With Smith Rowe’s consistent presence in the team not completely reliable, having a developed wide left forward in Martinelli gives Arsenal strength in depth. A valuable asset for a side looking to return to the Champions League.
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