Pundit Chris Sutton has told the Daily Mail that he thinks Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta must start Gabriel Martinelli against Villarreal tonight.
The Gunners return to action this evening as they head over to Spain to take on Villarreal in the semi-finals of the Europa League.
This means a battle against ex-Arsenal boss Unai Emery, and Arteta needs to get his side firing again after a couple of dire results.
After beating Slavia Prague 4-0 in the last round of the Europa League, Arsenal have picked up just one point in two games against Fulham and Everton.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette are fighting to be fit for tonight’s game after recent absences, but Chris Sutton wants Arteta to go in another direction.
Sutton has suggested that Arsenal need to attack Villarreal in behind, noting that Antoine Griezmann’s goal against them at the weekend showed how Arsenal should play; making runs in behind Villarreal.
Sutton therefore feels that Gabriel Martinelli is the perfect player to lead Arsenal’s attack tonight, feeling that such a role is made for the Brazilian.
Martinelli usually plays out wide for Arsenal, but Sutton is calling for Arteta to make a bold gamble and use him as a central striker where his movement and pace can cause problems.
“There is space to exploit behind this Villarreal back line,” said Sutton. “A ball over the top and a curved run from Antoine Griezmann was how Barcelona equalised against them in LaLiga last week. That’s a job made for Arsenal’s Gabriel Martinelli.”
“Alexandre Lacazette and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang are struggling to be fit for this semi-final first leg, so I’d like to see the 19-year-old Brazilian in the centre forward position,” he added.
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