Paul Merson has warned Gabriel Martinelli that his decision to press so aggressively just before Manchester City is a mistake which cannot happen at Arsenal.
The Brazilian winger must shoulder a big part of the blame for City’s winning goal after he opted to press high rather than stick with Nico O’Reilly.
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Martinelli came on as a substitute at half-time for Noni Madueke and was pressing City’s back line like a man possessed.
However, his decision to press Marc Guehi instead of sticking with the City left-back ended up being fatal for the Gunners, and Merson has slammed him.
Paul Merson slams Gabriel Martinelli’s mistake vs Man City
Paul Merson has just slammed Gabriel Martinelli for pressing so aggressively and costing Arsenal the second goal against Manchester City.
Pep Guardiola’s team still had much to do before Erling Haaland’s goal, but Martinelli’s inability to apply a bit of game management has proved costly.
The Gunners’ legend has told the 25-year-old that you simply cannot make such a big mistake at a club like Arsenal.
Speaking about the incident, Merson told Sky Sports: “I don’t like people not picking people up, and Gabriel Martinelli didn’t when he failed to track Nico O’Reilly’s run for Manchester City’s winner.
“Don’t worry about pressing Marc Guehi. Guehi’s not the problem. He’s standing on the edge of his own box; let him have it there! He switched off, and when you switch off, that’s what happens.
“When you’re at a club like Arsenal, you get told to do these things once. Once. You can’t keep getting told.
“Yes, O’Reilly still has the whole length of the pitch to run. But Martinelli’s got to nip that in the bud. You’ve got to know that’s the danger.”
Gabriel Martinelli must be sold by Arsenal this summer
Unfortunately, Martinelli has let down Arsenal on far too many occasions, and he must be sold by the North London club this summer.
Left wing was already one of the biggest priorities in the summer, and Martinelli’s latest error proved exactly why.
The winger has shown so much promise at the Emirates Stadium since signing back in 2019, but he has ultimately failed to ever truly deliver.
Andrea Berta should be looking to sell Martinelli to help raise funds to sign a truly elite winger in the summer.
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