Gabriel Martinelli on the up
Amid Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s disciplinary issues, Gabriel Martinelli has stepped up and taken his chance in Arsenal’s first-team.
The Brazilian had been on the fringes of Mikel Arteta’s set-up for some time, but he has now started in five of Arsenal’s last six league games, whilst also making a 26-minute sub appearance in the remaining game.
Across those six outings, Martinelli has scored four and provided two assists, with his latest match seeing him net a brace vs Leeds this past weekend.
? The pass
? The finish
? The celebrationPerfection, @GabiMartinelli ?#LEEARS pic.twitter.com/nrwQCCM7UV
— Arsenal (@Arsenal) December 19, 2021
Why Ben White is not surprised by Martinelli
With Aubameyang in the dog house and both Alexandre Lacazette and Eddie Nketiah out of contract in the summer, Martinelli’s rise to prominence is a big boost for Mikel Arteta.
It may also come as something of a surprise to many as Martinelli had not featured much this season until recent weeks and when he was given minutes, including in the opening two game weeks of 2021/22, he was not great.
One man who is not surprised by Martinelli’s form, though, is Ben White. The reason for this, as per White himself, is because he sees the South American every day:
“I see him every day, so it’s not really a surprise to me. 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.”
Quotes via the Evening Standard.
