Gabriel Martinelli may turn out to be crucial for Arsenal against Manchester City on Sunday afternoon.
Mikel Arteta’s team entertain City at the Emirates in a huge Premier League clash, with the Gunners looking to secure their third straight home victory over Pep Guardiola’s side.
The North Londoners arguably have a much deeper squad than their north-west counterparts, and this depth may ultimately prove to be the difference this weekend.
Martinelli scored off the bench in midweek against Athletic Club, and he could easily replicate this ‘super sub’ impact in the showdown coming up.
Manchester City have struggled late in games this season
City have experienced a mixed start to the new season.
Guardiola’s team suffered disappointing defeats to both Tottenham and Brighton before the international break, but recovered this week with victories over Manchester United and Napoli.
While these wins were encouraging for Guardiola, his side are still vulnerable in certain areas of the pitch, as well as at certain times in games.
City have fatigued as games have got to the latter stages of this season, largely as a result of Rodri’s lack of fitness, as the Ballon d’Or winner recovers from his ACL injury.
Opposition teams have been able to carve through the Manchester-based team’s midfield late in games, with gaps appearing across their back-line.
This is reflected in seriously concerning data for Guardiola. According to FBRef, of the five big chances that City have conceded this season in the Premier League, four of them have come after the 80th minute.
This is encouraging news for Arteta, who now has a multitude of high-quality options he can use off his bench to influence games late on.
If the Gunners keep the game tight in the opening 70 minutes in N5, then they should be well positioned to find some goals to win the encounter in the final 20.
Gabriel Martinelli will be crucial in exploiting this Manchester City weakness
Martinelli has been praised for the pace he possesses and the threat his runs off the ball cause to opposition defences.
The Brazilian showcased these attributes with his goal against Athletic Club, making an immediate dart in behind and slotting past Unai Simon, 36 seconds after coming on.
In the 70th minute against City, Arteta should introduce Martinelli and instruct him to make constant runs in behind the away team’s back four.
This could unlock what is likely to be a tight game before this point, and the 24-year-old winger has every chance of making the difference, given City’s clear weakness at this stage of matches.
Martinelli is almost the perfect substitute for Arteta to have up his sleeve for this specific game.
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