Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has told the club’s official website that Gabriel Martinelli is ready to start games for his side.
In from the off?
Martinelli has really struggled to break into Arteta’s side this season, with just two Premier League starts to his name.
He has almost been used solely as an impact substitute, with nine of his appearances coming from the bench.
Martinelli did score for Arsenal in their last game, as they beat Newcastle United 2-0 though.
It was a reminder of the quality that the Brazilian youngster does have.
And Arteta insists that Martinelli is ready to start games, if the need is there.
He said: “It’s part of the pathway. I understand that we want to play all the players, but we can only play 11 of them.
“We have such a young team and we have to find the right pathway with the right timing within the pathway because it can look in a different different way and I think it’s very clear what we want to do with Gabi.
“His determination is absolutely top and he will continue to do that. He has the capacity to start games, no doubt about it.”
Could Martinelli feature against United?
Interestingly, Martinelli could actually be required from the off against Manchester United tomorrow.
Arsenal go into the game with an injury issue surrounding Bukayo Saka.
Arteta has said that Saka will need to be assessed ahead of the game.
If the England international does miss out, then Martinelli could be the player picked to step up.
Arsenal do have other options in the form of Martin Odegaard or Nicolas Pepe, but Martinelli may well have edged ahead of the competition with his goal at the weekend, and Arteta’s latest comments look very encouraging for him.
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