Arsenal fans had a strong message for Mikel Arteta after the Gunners’ 2-1 win over Brighton.
Once again, Arsenal reacted to a Manchester City win by taking three points in the Premier League to remain at the top of the table.
The win over Brighton was far from conventional, take Declan Rice playing at right-back as evidence, but Arsenal got the job done.
Three points were the priority, but it’s so clear that Arteta needs to address his attack, as scoring goals looks like a chore right now, something fans might have a solution for.
Who was your Arsenal Man of the Match after 2-1 win against Brighton?
Arsenal fans urge Mikel Arteta to use Gabriel Martinelli as a striker
In the last four games in all competitions, Arsenal have generated an impressive 9.23xG, only to score one non-penalty goal.
One issue is how poor Viktor Gyokeres has been when leading the line, the other being the Swede’s teammates, who seem just as incapable of scoring at present.
There is, however, one solution that Arsenal fans are noticing: Gabriel Martinelli.
On social media after the Gunners’ win over Brighton, fans swarmed to X to plead for Arteta to play Martinelli as a centre-forward.
“Forget the fact he missed, but can we stop pretending he’s not a #9. Release Vardy man,” one fan said.
While that supporter likened Martinelli to Jamie Vardy, another compared him to Luis Suarez.
“Best thing that Emery did was play him as a number 9 because he’s literally Suarez regen.”
Unai Emery gave Martinelli opportunities as a striker, but fans can’t understand why Arteta isn’t.
Change my mind, Gabriel Martinelli can only save his Arsenal career by becoming a striker.
“I promise you Nelli would hit 20 goals playing as our 9,” one X user said, as another asked, “How hasn’t Arteta tried it?”
Fingers were pointed at the Arsenal manager, who came under fire for his management of Martinelli and other forwards.
“At a certain point you have to question Mikel’s ability to adapt an attack bc everyone can see his movement is what we need rn.”
Others couldn’t ignore the potential Martinelli has to play as a striker.
“This boy is a 9 all day long and twice on a Sunday,” one said.
Another admitted they are able to see through the Brazilian’s flaws.
“I accepted this last season. He misses a lot, but he has the brain to be a quality number 9.”
Arteta has nothing to lose right now with Arsenal’s strikers
Fans have made their thoughts clear, but what does Arteta do next?
Arteta reacted to Martinelli’s miss against Brighton, which might’ve caused the boss’s thoughts to contrast from those of supporters, but right now, there’s nothing to lose.
I actually think Arsenal need to sign a goalscorer in January, do you agree?
Arsenal cannot afford to keep underperforming in the expected goals metric so severely.
With no player stepping up to provide the goals consistently, Arteta must take a risk, with fans thinking that risk should be giving Martinelli the chance to impress as a striker.
With Aston Villa up next, Arteta could unleash Martinelli in a role first given to him at Arsenal by Emery, a switch that could stun the Villa boss.
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