Gabriel Martinelli & Arsenal

Gabriel Martinelli has had a mixed Arsenal stint to date.

The Brazilian began life in England impressively.

However, he then suffered an injury at the back end of 2019/20, which saw him miss a lot of games, including some at the start of 2020/21.

Martinelli has, of course, since returned to action, but had struggled for any sort of regular playing time under Mikel Arteta.

With Alexandre Lacazette and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang missing at the start of the season due to covid, Martinelli was afforded starts vs both Brentford and Chelsea. However, Arsenal lost both ties and Martinelli did little in either.

Gabriel Martinelli earns Sergio Aguero comparison

This led to the South American star being put on the fringes of the Gunners’ squad, notching just 11 minutes of action between gameweek three and gameweek 12 of the PL campaign.

However, in part due to Aubameyang’s disciplinary breach, Martinelli has since become a regular starter for Arsenal.

The Brazilian came off the bench to score vs Newcastle. He then provided assists vs Manchester United and Southampton before netting vs West Ham earlier this week.

Now, after impressing of late, Joe Cole has compared Martinelli to a young Sergio Aguero.

Speaking after the West Ham game, Cole stated:

“I left the stadium and I was driving away. I was thinking ‘this is the first time in 10 years there’s something to work from with Arsenal, there’s a base’.

“This lad is outstanding, Martinelli. I’ve always been a big fan of his.

“He reminds me of a young Aguero, who is busy, just like Alexis Sanchez.”

Quotes via football.london.

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