Gabriel Martinelli has enjoyed a spritely spell leading Arsenal’s line with the January transfer window just around the corner, staking his claim as the north London side’s new number nine.
Mikel Arteta could lose as many as three strikers next month; Eddie Nketiah and Alexandre Lacazette see their current deals expire at the end of the season, meanwhile Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is still out of the frame.
But, the 20-year-old forward’s recent form has made him the natural heir to the throne but the Gunners boss has been warned he mustn’t get carried away, specifically noting the sustainability of Arsenal’s creative play.
So, Tom Canton spoke with scouting and analysis expert David Hughes live on The Arsenal Way ‘Analysing Arsenal show’ to delve into Martinelli’s uplift in form and how Arteta can make the Brazilian’s form permanent.
Hughes kickstarted proceedings by outlining why he is impressed Martinelli before revealing his biggest concern.
“If you look at Martinelli’s shots, he only had two against Leeds and scored them both,” he said. “He was only presented with one against Southampton. He had four against West Ham and only one against Newcastle where he scored.
“So, looking at that, I think there’s a mixture of him wanting to be on the end of more goal-scoring opportunities and Arsenal trying to create a little bit more for them.
“I think if he can do that, if they can create more chances for him, then the evidence that we’re seeing, especially over these last few weeks, suggest that he’ll put a good amount of them away.”
Hughes added by explaining how Martinelli has proved himself as a finisher but it’s now up to Arteta to ensure that the youngster is supplied with consistent service.
“The main thing I’d say it’s just about creating more chances for him because it’s all well and good against Leeds he scores two from two but the reality is that that is not sustainable.
“The best forwards at the biggest clubs tend to get maybe three or four shots a game and if we really want to see him start consistently scoring big goals on a regular basis then we need a little bit more from the rest of the squad in terms of creating goal-scoring opportunities for him.”
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