Yaya Toure says Arsenal star who completed one dribble was a ‘constant threat’ vs Atletico Madrid

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Yaya Toure has heaped praise on an Arsenal player he was impressed by in the Gunners’ win over Atletico Madrid on Tuesday night.

Mikel Arteta’s side thrashed Atletico at the Emirates in the Champions League, cruising to victory courtesy of four second-half goals.

Gabriel Magalhaes opened the scoring with a header shortly after the break, before Gabriel Martinelli’s strike and a brace from Viktor Gyokeres secured the home team the points.

Martin Zubimendi has been praised for his display, while Gyokeres also stole the headlines, but Toure opted to highlight the display of a different player.

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Yaya Toure praises Gabriel Martinelli after Arsenal vs Atletico Madrid

Martinelli was excellent for Arsenal against Atletico.

The Brazilian took his goal expertly, walking on to Myles Lewis-Skelly’s pass to assertively slot beyond Jan Oblak with a Thierry Henry-esque finish.

Aside from this strike, the wide forward worked effortlessly throughout, while he was constantly looking to stretch the Atletico backline by running in behind and utilising his pace.

Manchester City legend Yaya Toure, who was in attendance in N5 for the Champions League clash, claimed on his social media pages that Martinelli was a ‘constant threat’ when revealing his general thoughts on the game.

“It was an excellent atmosphere at the Emirates,” Toure wrote.

“Arsenal once again showed how effective they are from set-pieces. The standout moment for me was Martinelli’s goal. Myles Lewis-Skelly’s powerful run broke through Atletico’s defence brilliantly.

“Julian Alvarez impressed me too, and was unlucky to see his long-range effort hit the bar. Martinelli was a constant threat on the wing. A fantastic performance from Arsenal.”

While Martinelli will indeed be delighted with his performance and the way he tormented Atletico’s defence with his off-the-ball runs, he’ll still feel he can do more when on the ball.

Attempting five dribbles, the 24-year-old completed just one, showing that this is still clearly an aspect of his game he could work on.

Gabriel Martinelli should start over Leandro Trossard against Crystal Palace

Martinelli has mostly been used as an impact substitute in the Premier League of late.

The Brazil international’s starts have come in the Champions League, but this should change this Sunday when Arsenal host Crystal Palace.

Leandro Trossard was poor against Fulham despite his goal, and should be dropped from the starting eleven in favour of Martinelli for the visit of the Eagles.

Palace’s 3-4-3 system should also suit Martinelli’s strengths. Daniel Munoz will push forward down Oliver Glasner’s team’s right, leaving space for the Arsenal man to run into and exploit.

Trossard is significantly less effective at making use of space, and Palace are clearly a side that will afford the Gunners opportunities to hit them in transition.