Kieran Tierney and Gabriel Martinelli do not work together. Remember hearing this throughout so much of last season and the one before?
I do. And I am starting to hear it again now as discussions surrounding what changes Arsenal should make ahead of the game against Aston Villa are had.
There are three positions in particular which are being looked at the most and they’re all confined to Arsenal’s left flank. Left-back, left central midfield and left-wing; these three areas could all potentially have different personnel in their spaces than those we saw against Manchester City.
READ MORE: Mikel Arteta gives Thomas Partey, Emile Smith Rowe and Gabriel Jesus update for Villa vs Arsenal
Gabriel Martinelli’s form has dipped to the point where some want to see Leandro Trossard come in to start. Granit Xhaka’s early season performances meanwhile have not been matched in 2023 to the same standard and the congested run of fixtures could see him due a rest.
This begs the question of who replaces him and the general consensus, of which I agree, is that Oleksandr Zinchenko could come into this role considering he’s been operating in the space for some time already. Kieran Tierney then would move into the left-back slot, having not made an appearance for four straight matches, instead sitting as an unused substitute.
Martinelli was arguably the brightest of the front three against City and with Eddie Nketiah looking fatigued, Trossard’s inclusion could, or in my case should, come at the centre-forward role. Although if I were a betting man I think Arteta will most likely make, at a maximum, just the two changes with one being the return of Ben White.
However, the suggestion that Martinelli and Tierney cannot play or work together should not be a reason to cast aside suggestions that they should start against Aston Villa. In fact, in all four matches the pair have played together this season Arsenal have won.
Against Fulham (H), Aston Villa (H), Brentford (A) and West Ham (H) when Zinchenko was unavailable and Tierney came into the team the Gunners secured a victory. This alone is not evidence enough but it is a solid indication that the suggestions that the pair simply do not work together might be, at a minimum, somewhat exaggerated.
Let’s look at the games in more detail to explore the argument about space. Martinelli, unlike Smith Rowe for example, is a wide player that likes to use all of the area available to him meaning he can both drive to the touchline to try a cross and beat his man, or cut inside earlier for a cross, pass or shot.
Smith Rowe has tended to prefer playing far more inverted than Martinelli when playing therefore bringing up the argument that Tierney can be more effective in overlapping situations. However, Martinelli has struggled recently without the support of a more direct, traditional full-back to take the focus away from him when facing one-vs-one or one-vs-two scenarios.
Everton, Brentford and Man City were good at doubling up on the Brazilian and preventing him from getting into many dangerous situations. This both isolated him and Eddie Nketiah in the middle whose movement is less widespread compared to Gabriel Jesus.
Looking at the heat maps of the four Premier League matches the pair have started this season reveals that they have not necessarily been stepping on each other's toes. In fact, Mikel Arteta’s coaching of Tierney in which he’s encouraged to play more similarly to Zinchenko has meant Martinelli was offered more freedom.
The only game of the four where the pair share a lot of the same space is against West Ham. But even then, Martinelli’s playing far more internally with Tierney’s position.
The final point to add is that Zinchenko replacing Xhaka in the midfield adds a new dynamic to the left-sided full-back and winger pairing we’ve not seen before. The aggressive movement of the Ukrainian could add a new dimension to the Tierney-Martinelli partnership empowered by Zinchenko’s play.
Xhaka has been great and certainly helps with moving the ball into the wide left spaces. But what Zinchenko is great at is drawing players toward him with his dribbling on the ball which Xhaka simply cannot replicate.
This then would have a knock-on effect to the wide left whether Tierney and Martinelli would have more space, fewer obstacles and greater options in their combinations. Whatever Arteta chooses, he needs to recognise the variety available to him and with Emile Smith Rowe returning there’s scope for even more.
READ NEXT:
Every word Mikel Arteta said on Thomas Partey injury, rotation and Arsenal fixture scheduling
Mikel Arteta gives Thomas Partey, Emile Smith Rowe and Gabriel Jesus update for Villa vs Arsenal
Paul Merson and Chris Sutton agree on 'huge' Aston Villa vs Arsenal score prediction
Arsenal's next five fixtures compared to Manchester City, Man Utd, Newcastle and Tottenham
Arsenal news and transfers LIVE: All the latest news, rumours and gossip from the Emirates Stadium
