Ian Wright praised Arsenal duo, Gabriel Martinelli and Alexandre Lacazette during their 2-0 win over West Ham on Wednesday night, as he told Premier League Productions (15/12/21 at 10:05 pm).
The Arsenal legend stated that someone like Martinelli is ‘back’ and he could possibly be the long-term replacement for the recently-axed, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang if he can also deal with his injuries.
Arsenal went into last night’s game with all the talk of Aubameyang being stripped of his captaincy hovering over the Emirates Stadium.
But the players put in a high-quality display against their fellow Champions League rivals and deserved to secure all three points.
It was Lacazette who fed Martinelli for the opener during the early exchanges of the second half, before two academy stars, Emile Smith Rowe and Bukayo Saka, combined late on to seal all the points.
Wright spoke about what Martinelli can do without his injuries and how Lacazette was ‘brilliant’ during the game.
“He (Martinelli) has been curtailed by injuries but he’s back,” said Wright. “When he gets into this situation (his goal) that where he’s getting that ball past into that space and you have a forward that’s willing to run.
“Laca’s pulled off brilliantly. He had a brilliant game. Then you have a willing runner, great composure and a great finish. You are hoping he can continue to do that because he is the kind of person that if there is going to be an air to the throne, in respect of Aubameyang, then this guy can do it.
“Can he sustain? Can he be consistent in his goalscoring? Can he create chances?… If he can, then we will have a really good chance of scoring more goals and creating more chances.”
This is a real statement win for Arsenal and a message to their Champions League rivals that they mean business.
It’s also probably a message from Arteta himself that he is the king of the Arsenal ship and it’s his way or the highway.
After what happened in recent days, Arteta needed this win, else the headlines would have written themselves.
But, for the first time in a very long time, the Gunners are nearly midway through the season and sitting in the top four.
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