Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has suggested on the club’s official website that Gabriel Martinelli could replace Gabriel Jesus in attack for the Gunners.
Arteta has not ruled out using forward Martinelli as a striker for Arsenal when he is back from the 2022 Qatar World Cup.
The 21-year-old forward is playing for Brazil at the World Cup at the moment.
Martinelli is a regular in the Arsenal first team and starts on the left of a front-three.
Brazil international striker Jesus starts centrally.
The former Manchester City striker has undergone surgery following an injury while playing for Brazil at the 2022 Qatar World Cup.
The 25-year-old could be on the sidelines for at least three months, perhaps even more.
And Arteta has suggested that he could use Martinelli as the central striker.
Mikel Arteta on using Gabriel Martinelli as Gabriel Jesus’s replacement at Arsenal
Arteta said when asked if he’d consider playing Martinelli down the middle: “We look at the squad and we consider every option obviously, with the players that we have available. There are things that we can try if we have the need to do so.”
Could it work?
In our view, playing Gabriel Martinelli down the middle could be a bit risky for Arsenal, especially as they are in with a very good chance of winning the Premier League title this season.
Martinelli can score and is very confident in front of goal, but playing him down the middle could see him having to change his natural game.
Eddie Nketiah is more of a number 9 than Martinelli, and maybe Arteta should persevere with the former Leeds United loanee first.
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