Alan Smith has been singing the praises of Arsenal attacker Gabriel Martinelli today.
The Gunners recorded a 1-1 draw away to Southampton this afternoon to move two points clear of Manchester City at the Premier League summit.
Martinelli, a £6 million signing in 2019 [Goal], caused the hosts all sorts of problems throughout a relatively one-sided first half for Arsenal.
One moment in particular summed up the 21-year-old Brazilian, who breezed past a number of players but couldn’t add a second for the North Londoners, who went ahead through Granit Xhaka.
And Smith has gushed over the youngster’s ‘electric pace’.
He said live on Sky Sports [23/10, 40 mins]: “Look at this. he’s got electric pace, wonderful control. So often those little deflections wrong-foot the keeper and find a way into the corner.”
Martinelli, like so many of his Arsenal teammates, faded pretty poorly after the half-time break.
It isn’t the first time that the South American has enjoyed a fast-and-furious first 45 minutes, before virtually disappearing in the second half.
It’s almost as if Martinelli uses all his energy and then cannot sustain it after the break, but it’s definitely something Mikel Arteta will have to look at.
A balanced Martinelli is much better for Arsenal than one who is ineffective for the last half-an-hour and the Spanish manager may tweak his game a little going forward.
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