Theo Walcott believes Gabriel Martinelli has a specific attribute that no other player in Arsenal’s squad has.
Martinelli scored an exceptional equaliser in the 93rd minute of the Gunners’ game against Manchester City on Sunday.
Perfectly timing his diagonal run in behind from the right-hand side, the Brazilian took the clipped pass from Eberechi Eze in his stride before delicately lifting the ball over Gianluigi Donnarumma.
This capped off an excellent week for the winger, who also scored 36 seconds after coming off the bench against Athletic Club in Bilbao in the Champions League on Wednesday.
Theo Walcott says Gabriel Martinelli does something no one else does in Arsenal’s squad
Martinelli struggled earlier in the season and has stagnated in his general development in the last few years.
The 24-year-old has too frequently been isolated on the touchline and forced to try to take on multiple defenders by himself.
This isn’t one of his strengths, and he’s slowly lost sight of what he’s actually good at. That was, until this week.
Excellent at timing penetrative out-to-in runs beyond the opposition’s backline, Martinelli has done this exquisitely in the last two matches and has been subsequently rewarded with two goals.
Speaking on the Overlap US, former Arsenal wide man Theo Walcott claimed the Brazil international is the only forward in Mikel Arteta’s squad who is effective at making runs without the ball.
“He’s the only player in that Arsenal team who loves to run without the ball,” Walcott said.
“Too many players like to come to feet, and I get it. There was a lack of creativity, and he needed something different. He’s that game changer – Mikel calls it ‘the finishers’, and maybe that’s his job this year, maybe.”
Theo Walcott was disappointed Gabriel Martinelli didn’t start vs Man City
Arteta has been criticised for his team selection against Manchester City.
Not only did he start Mikel Merino and field what has been perceived to be a conservative midfield three, he also made a controversial call on the left wing.
The Spaniard left Martinelli and Eze out of the side in favour of Leandro Trossard, and the Belgian failed to make a significant impact throughout his 84 minutes on the pitch.
Meanwhile, the aforementioned duo combined to create and score the equalising goal.
Walcott has revealed that he was disappointed not to see either Martinelli or Eze in the starting eleven before the game.
“Yeah, to be honest, when I looked at the starting lineup, I was a bit disappointed for the likes of a Martinelli or Eze, because obviously Trossard did come off the bench and he scored,” he said.
“I get it. However, I just felt like this game needed a different kind of player.”
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