Paul Merson has said on SportsKeeda that Gabriel Martinelli could save Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal £70 million, but thinks that the Gunners will fail to win against Wolverhampton Wanderers at Molineux Stadium.
Arsenal will take on Wolves away from home at Molineux Stadium in the Premier League on Thursday evening.
Former Arsenal star and Sky Sports pundit Merson believes that the macth will end in a 1-1 draw.
Merson has also urged Gunners manager Mikel Arteta to start using forward Martinelli as a striker.
The Englishman has said that the 20-year-old could be the striker that they are looking for and could save the Gunners million in transfer fees.
Merson wrote on SportsKeeda: “Wolves are the Premier League’s dark horses at the moment. They’re winning football matches, and they could push for a top-four finish by winning their games in hand.
“If United and Spurs win their games, Wolves and Arsenal cannot afford to fall behind. This is a massive Premier League match for both teams.
“If I were Arteta, I’d start playing Martinelli up front. Arsenal could spend a lot of money on a striker, but the player they’re looking for might already be at the club. Martinelli is lively and quick – he has what it takes. He should get a run till the end of the season, and might save Arsenal £70 million.
“Wolves are a very solid team, and they’ve also started to score goals now. They’ve parted ways with Adama Traore in the transfer market and that’s a big loss for them. A draw isn’t a great result for either team, but this fixture may well produce one this week.”
Gabriel Martinelli to play as number 9 for Arsenal?
In our view, Arteta should at least consider using Martinelli as a number 9 upfront for Arsenal.
Now, of course, we know that Arsenal can call upon Alexandre Lacazette, but the Frenchman is better off playing just behind.
According to WhoScored, Lacazette has started 10 competitive games upfront so far this season, and has scored three goals and provided four assists in them.
Martinelli has been used as a centre-forward just once by Arsenal so far this season, according to WhoScored.
The Arsenal no. 35 has scored four goals and given two assists in 10 Premier League starts so far this campaign.
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