Mikel Arteta has confirmed that Gabriel Martinelli is a candidate to replace Gabriel Jesus at Arsenal.
The Gunners will be without their number nine until March due to a knee injury.
Eddie Nketiah is the only other natural striker in this Arsenal squad but there’s been doubts as to whether he can fill the void left by the former Manchester City hitman.
Speaking to the North Londoners’ official website, Arteta said: “We have other alternatives in that we can play Martinelli up front as well.”
And if the Spanish manager winds up using Martinelli there, well Nketiah could and should be furious.
That’s because Nketiah signed a £100,000-a-week [Sun] contract extension at Arsenal six months ago, on the basis that he’d get more regular football after losing Alexandre Lacazette and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
And this injury to Jesus will have been looked upon by him as a gateway toward more minutes, particularly in the Premier League.
So if Arteta were to convert Martinelli, a winger, into a centre-forward, overlooking Nketiah after committing his future to the Emirates Stadium outfit, then the 23-year-old will be very upset to say the least.
Thing is, Arteta probably isn’t wrong.
Nketiah hasn’t scored from 12 Premier League outings this season and with his troops in the hunt for a first title since 2004, there’s no room for sentiment.
If Arteta feels that Arsenal have a better shot at winning the league with Martinelli up front than Nketiah, then the latter will have to respect that.
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