Kevin Campbell has revealed that Mikel Arteta is doing one-on-one sessions with Arsenal star Gabriel Martinelli at London Colney, with a view to molding him into a number nine.
The 19-year-old Brazilian attacker is one of the brightest talents in world football but he’s had a very difficult last 12 months.
Not only has Martinelli spent much of the past year on the sidelines due to injury, but now he struggles to get minutes under the Arsenal boss despite being fully fit.
This is a big frustration to some Gunners fans by virtue of the fact that they know how good the South American gem really is.
Martinelli, a £6 million signing in 2019, has only managed five Premier League appearances this season and none for almost two months.
He did earn a nine-minute cameo against Olympiacos in the Europa League last night and it was a promising performance, despite having such little time to make an impact.
As a winger, Arteta clearly doesn’t think a whole lot of Martinelli, but former Arsenal striker Campbell has claimed to The Highbury Squad podcast that the Spanish coach is ‘working hard’ at London Colney to transform him into a through-the-middle attacker.
He said: “He is the future. He [Arteta] feels bad for him but apparently, from what my sources tell me, Arteta is working hard with him on the training pitch to get him up to speed to play number nine.”
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
