Arsenal fans have a lot to say about Gabriel Martinelli after his Everton performance

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Around the Emirates Stadium after Saturday’s 0-0 draw with Everton, a lot of Arsenal fans were labelling the performance as their worst of the season to date.

Mikel Arteta’s side failed to score at home for the first time in recent memory – Arsenal were thwarted by Everton’s defensive shape and Jordan Pickford’s athleticism behind his backline.

Arsenal came close on a few occasions but weren’t able to provide the attacking moments to build on an excellent defensive performance at the back.

Many supporters in N5 now feel as if Arteta’s players are being hamstrung by their manager’s defensive demands, and perhaps there’s no one suffering more than Gabriel Martinelli.

Raw, determined and full of quality in the past, Martinelli now looks toothless in front of goal.

Arsenal fans call for ‘overrated’ Gabriel Martinelli to be sold in January

Martin Keown offered Martinelli some advice of late, words which should definitely help in the long-run.

However, following his minutes against Everton, Arsenal fans on X were beginning to lose patience with the Brazilian, labelling him as ‘overrated’.

READ MORE: Declan Rice, Riccardo Calafiori and four more Arsenal injury updates after Everton draw

One supporter said: “Martinelli should’ve ripped 39 year old Ashley Young to shreds yet Young walked off pitch without a sweat.”

There were a lot of calls for Martinelli to be replaced in January, with some even suggesting that the 23-year-old should be sold as a result.

Another fan wrote: “Martinell fell off so bad. He should be sold off.”

Of course, some Arsenal fans are still backing Martinelli to come good, an opinion that was receiving a lot of backlash after full-time.

In reply to a tweet saying that Martinelli wasn’t the problem, one fan protested: “Stop defending Martinelli. He isn’t doing the minimum.”

Alongside his Brazilian teammate, Kai Havertz was also on the back end of some criticism, another player who wasn’t quite at his best against Everton.

Selling Martinelli would be a ludicrous decision next month

Put simply, if Arsenal put Martinelli up for sale next month, the club’s inbox would be absolutely rammed.

Even if he’s not quite been at his best for a year or so, Martinelli still has so much potential at the top level.

It does appear as if Arteta’s defensive demands have simply stifled his raw attacking quality to some degree.

Despite being very different players, perhaps some comparisons can be made to how Jack Grealish has lost his creative spark at Manchester City – a player who now has to think about so many tactical demands in every 90 minutes he plays.

Arteta will be as determined as anyone to get Martinelli back to his best, but selling the winger in January would be a ludicrously knee-jerk reaction.

Arsenal should have played Raheem Sterling against Everton, but it’s harsh to solely blame Martinelli for recent shortcomings.