According to Football London, Gabriel Martinelli has been taking non-compulsory individual sessions at London Colney to improve his game.
Specifically, the Brazilian forward has been working on his shooting.
Football London add that Mikel Arteta sees the Arsenal wonderkid as someone who could play as a centre-forward in the long term.
Some fans already felt this was the case yesterday, as the 19-year-old posted a video of himself on Instagram.
The clip shows Arsenal’s No.35 working on his finishing, meeting balls coming from out wide as well as from the middle of the field.
You can see why Arteta views Martinelli as a potential centre-forward.
When he hasn’t been playing out wide, the teenager has actually made nine appearances as a central striker for the north Londoners.
In those outings, he has shone with seven goals and one assist, as shown by Transfermarkt.
It’s also a good way of ensuring Arteta manages his squad effectively.
As things stand, the Spaniard has a number of wide players at his disposal.
Nicolas Pepe, Bukayo Saka, Reiss Nelson, Willian and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang all play on the flanks, as does Emile Smith Rowe at times.
However, at centre-forward, Arteta can only call on Alexandre Lacazette and Eddie Nketiah, as well as Aubameyang.
In that respect, perhaps he’s viewing Martinelli as a centre-forward for the sake of his immediate playing time, as well as his long-term plans for the prodigy.
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