Some Arsenal fans have taken to Twitter to give their reaction to manager Mikel Arteta not bringing on Gabriel Martinelli earlier last night.
Arsenal suffered a 2-1 defeat to Villarreal away from home in Spain in the first leg of their Europa League semi-final tie on Thursday evening.
The 19-year-old forward came on as a substitute for Martin Odegaard in the 63rd minute, as the Gunners lost 2-1.
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta actually did not start the game with a natural striker, with Emile Smith Rowe deployed as the false number 9.
Martinelli did well after he came on, as the Brazilian forward looked lively and was a nuisance for the Villarreal defence.
According to WhoScored, Martinelli had a pass accuracy of 66.7%, won two headers, took 12 touches, and made one tackle.
Martinelli has made five starts and five substitute appearances in the Premier League and has made five substitute appearances in the Europa League for Arsenal this season, according to WhoScored.
Some Arsenal fans cannot understand why Arteta would not play Martinelli from the start even though he is now fully fit and available.
Below are some of the best comments on Twitter:
Martinelli does well in training and is rated highly by his Arsenal teammates, and one can understand why some fans are so eager for Arteta to give him the chance.
The teenager has done well when he has been given the opportunities, and perhaps he will start against Villarreal in the second-leg of the Europa League semi-final tie.
Arsenal are not going to finish in the top four of the Premier League this season, and winning the Europa League is their only route to the Champions League.
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