Gabriel Martinelli has had a mixed few years at Arsenal.
Nobody had really heard of the Brazilian when he first joined the Gunners, but he became an instant hit at the Emirates Stadium under Unai Emery.
Then, Martinelli had a difficult time under Mikel Arteta at the start but produced his best season in the famous red and white in 2022/23.
The 24-year-old was poor in the next two campaigns, but he has looked a lot better this season. His performance against Crystal Palace showed how Arsenal can get the best out of him.
Agree or disgaree? Gabriel Martinelli is Arsenal’s most technically gifted player…
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Gabriel Jesus could be the secret to Gabriel Martinelli becoming a star again at Arsenal
Gabriel Jesus and Gabriel Martinelli have always shared a good relationship.
The two Brazilians aren’t just close off the pitch, but they combine really well every time they play together in attack.
Jesus and Martinelli’s ability to interchange positions makes them a nightmare to play against, and Crystal Palace found that out the hard way in the quarter-final of the Carabao Cup.
Martinelli was absolutely incredible in the first half. He got the better of Palace right-back Jaydee Canvot almost every single time and made the youngster’s evening one he will want to forget.
The former Ituano man created five chances in the first half and should’ve easily had a couple of assists. He was unstoppable before he hurt himself and produced arguably his best performance of the season.
There are two reasons why Martinelli was so good. The first is that Arsenal got the ball to him much quicker than they usually do, which gave him more time.
Secondly, and even more importantly, Jesus occupied spaces and made runs that really suited Martinelli and allowed him to be at his best.
Viktor Gyokeres is brilliant, but he hasn’t done what Jesus did. That is why the latter is the secret to unlocking Martinelli.
Change our mind: Gabriel Martinelli and Gabriel Jesus will both be starters for Arsenal by the end of the season…
Arsenal have two great partnerships in attack
Jesus and Martinelli definitely deserve to play more games together, and we won’t be surprised at all if they end up starting consistently in attack.
If both players are firing, Arsenal will go to the next level, but there is no reason to put those two under too much pressure.
That’s because Arteta has another partnership that can be just as good – Gyokeres and Leandro Trossard.
The two attackers have done well together this season, and they will only get better as they play more games with each other.
Arsenal can now choose which partnership to use depending on the opposition, and that makes them extremely dangerous going forward.
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