Steve McManaman has stated that Gabriel Martinelli is now ‘undroppable’ for Arsenal, as he told Premier League Productions (18/12/21 at 7:40 pm).
The former England international added that the Arsenal team that started the 4-1 win at Leeds yesterday is now ‘set-in-stone’, baring one place between Martin Odegaard and Emile Smith Rowe.
For the second game running, Smith Rowe came off the bench to score for his boyhood club and he’s is providing Mikel Arteta with a much-needed headache.
It just goes to show the strength in depth Arsenal now have that they can afford to bring someone like Smith Rowe on from the bench.
But whilst he has been in the limelight before, it’s Martinelli now standing tall in that spot.
That’s three goals in his last two matches and McManaman was full of praise for the highly-rated youngster.
“He’s undroppable at the moment,” said McManaman. “His place is not in any doubt.
“In fact, all of them who are playing and starting, at the moment, their place is set-in-stone, isn’t it?
“It’s Arsenal’s best XI what we saw (v Leeds), whether you have Smith Rowe or Odegaard.
“Odegaard is certainly playing well enough. If that starting XI is fit and well, then they roll again on Boxing Day against Norwich. And you expect them to beat Norwich.”
With Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang seemingly heading towards the exit door after he was stripped of the captaincy, it does leave one more door open for someone to take in those forward areas.
Martinelli would get game time under Arteta before, but not enough starts as he would have liked.
He has got that during the past six Premier League matches and delivered by scoring or assisting in five of those games.
Whilst the Brazilian has been in north London for a number of years now, this does seem the season where he is starting to take that first proper step forward.
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