Let’s admit that Gabriel Martinelli is struggling at Arsenal right now.
Two years on from Jurgen Klopp calling him a talent of the century, Martinelli hasn’t come on much in that time.
The 20-year-old Brazilian has only managed 747 minutes of Premier League football since the start of last season.
But Martinelli could be a huge asset for Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta very, very soon.
A month from now, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Nicolas Pepe will be jetting off for Africa Cup of Nations duty.
Burden
That will leave the goalscoring burden on Alexandre Lacazette but it could, in theory, also elevate Martinelli.
Arteta certainly should be deploying the South American whizkid a lot more regularly – like, in the starting lineup.
And that newfound sense of purpose could finally let the Arsenal gem – a £6 million signing under Unai Emery – dazzle once again.
There’s no doubt that Martinelli looked a much bigger talent under Emery than he does under Arteta.
The former Gunners boss had such trust in Martinelli despite being only 18 at the time.
Arteta will have to have similar trust weeks from now and it’ll be fascinating to see if he really is still the talent of the century.
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