Arsenal defender Ben White is not surprised by Gabriel Martinelli’s sparkling form, with the Brazilian continuing his fine run by scoring twice against Leeds on Saturday.
Martinelli has broken into the Arsenal first team recently, starting in each of the Gunners’ last five games, and he has taken his chance.
The 20-year-old has scored three goals in his last two matches and his brace against Leeds over the weekend helped Arsenal win 4-1, with Bukayo Saka and Emile Smith Rowe also getting in on the act.
Martinelli has earned plenty of praise for his performances, but White isn’t shocked by the youngster’s rise after seeing him in training.
“I see him every day, so it’s not really a surprise to me,” he said. “He’s a very talented player and that’s what we are all starting to see.
“We want to keep winning games. We went on a good run before and then we lost to [Manchester] United. We want to keep the run going now and keep winning.
“We are going to keep taking it game by game and just keep working hard ahead of every game.”
Saturday’s win at Elland Road helped Arsenal solidify their grip on fourth place in the Premier League, particularly as West Ham and Manchester United both had their games postponed.
It means Arsenal will be in the Champions League places on Christmas Day, which is remarkable given that this time last year they were 15th and four points above the relegation places.
“We are there now, but it’s still a long, long season to go ahead with a lot of unpredictable things probably that are going to happen, but we are there,” said Arteta.
“We want to continue that and we want to continue improving and playing better and better, and then let's see where we get.”
