Ian Wright has strongly urged Arsenal fans to be patient with Gabriel Martinelli, on the latest edition of the Wrighty’s House podcast.
Mikel Arteta has come under some criticism from Arsenal supporters for failing to utilise the Brazilian forward enough.
Martinelli was overlooked completely in Arsenal’s last game against Leicester City, even when the North London side were 3-1 up.
Arteta opted to use Pierre Emerick Aubameyang off the bench, while Willian started – in a controversial selection choice.
Martinelli is very highly regarded by Arsenal supporters, who are desperate to see him become a regular in their side.
But Wright thinks that Arteta is doing exactly the right thing with the teenager, and has asked Arsenal fans to truth their manager.
“People are very much like ‘where’s Martinelli?’. But Martinelli has had a serious injury, he’s coming back and with Willian playing better, with Pepe playing better, with Auba scoring – he can introduce him slowly. Please be more patient Arsenal fans, because this our future,” Wright said.
“Yes, he’s fit but we don’t want to blasting him in just in case he could break down.
“We have players who are playing better now and we can ease him in. His time will come because Mikel makes the right decisions.”
Martinelli made it into double figures for goals last term before injury struck, so the excitement about his potential is understandable.
But Arsenal do have a number of promising attacking options right now, so his task of breaking back into the team will not be an easy one.
Arsenal are next in action against Burnley at the weekend, when it seems most likely that Martinelli will be given a place on the bench again.
Wrighty’s House is the latest podcast from The Ringer with host Ian Wright with new episodes every Wednesday. The podcast will be available exclusively on Spotify. You can listen here.
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