On Martinelli. He’s out of form, unable to beat his man in 1v1s & is struggling, just like he did for large parts of last season. But what is Martinelli?
A question that if answered, untangles all the knots and complications as to why he is underperforming. He is a ball carrier, who holds the width on the left and is tasked with creating threats through crosses or layoffs or cutbacks from the left side when in 1vl positions or transitions.
He is our primary creator from the left and is also a forward who, if in the correct gear, can lash one across the keeper when cutting inside. All of what was said is NOT what he currently is, but what his role is. What he is today is a lone left attacker who spends large parts of his game checking back, tracking back & being incredibly wide near the touchline. He’s a beneficiary of Arsenal when things are in flow, his best & achieves all Arteta tasks him to, when the tempo is increased, the ball is circulated to him at the right moment when the team arrives together, but most importantly, he is a chaos player who can thrive when he has spaces to float in and players to combine with. The more space the better. Zinchenko & Xhaka in Artetas first title challenge contributed to a brilliant Martinelli. They played the passes in behind just perfectly where he could explode or jink past a defender. And you know who was his greatest chemistry-building player? Gabriel Jesus. He created spaces for Martinelli to move inside, often rotating with Gabi & being a player he can simply combine with. What we’re seeing now is a player who cannot “do’ what Saka does. The lone creator who conjures things in the right areas.
You see, for all his pitfalls, Martinelli is an Arteta favourite because he does the tasks asked of him. His nature though is clearly to be more inside, more vertical, where the destination is to shoot not cross, where the defender he’s tasked with isn’t the full-back, but the last centre-back, where the ball isn’t at his feet but slightly in front and all his actions derive on his pace and shooting, not precision crossing, cutbacks and low block unpicking. I think confidence is low because the load is bearing heavy. Merino will help, but the better Arsenal becomes. The more congested things will be. The further wide-out Martinelli is, the less likely we are to see the damage he can do.
It’s a catch-22 because he contributes so much defensively, but until he is closer to the box with players to combine, I’m afraid he will always play and frustrate with his poor end product. He’s a forward playing as a touchline winger and sometimes that conflict results in lulls that no strained effort can overcome. Let’s review once Merino is in but he’s a player who seemingly needs more from the team than the team currently needs from him.