Arteta must ruthlessly drop Martinelli & unleash “unplayable” Arsenal star

While deadline day was certainly underwhelming, the mood around Arsenal’s form on the pitch is in a far better place than it was a few weeks ago.

Mikel Arteta’s side played host to Premier League champions Manchester City on the weekend, and while Pep Guardiola’s side are a shadow of their former selves at the moment, they showed against Chelsea that they can still turn it on.

However, by the time the full-time whistle was blown on Sunday, the almighty Cityzens had been utterly blown away by the Gunners in a 5-1 demolition with more than its fair share of needle thanks to the growing, old-school rivalry between the two sides.

It was the perfect result for the North Londoners as they now look to overturn a 2-0 deficit away to Newcastle United tonight in the second leg of their League Cup semi-final, and while it seems incredibly harsh, Arteta should look to start Gabriel Martinelli on the bench against the Toon.

Why Martinelli should start on the bench

So, the first thing to say is that dropping anyone from the team who started against City on Sunday would be harsh, and not a single starter put in a poor showing.

However, with plenty of games to come and a thinner squad than Arteta would like, making changes is a necessity, and if someone has to come out of the side to make room for someone else, it should be Martinelli off the right.

As he always does, the Brazilian put in a tremendous shift against the champions and did well to pick up an assist for the Kai Havertz goal, but unlike Leandro Trossard on the other side, it didn’t feel like he quite tied down his opposing full-back well enough.

Moreover, the former Ituano gem has generally struggled to get past players with the ball at his feet in the last season and a bit, and is far happier utilising his speed to get in behind them and then receiving the ball, which against a Newcastle team who are defending a 2-0 lead at home, just isn’t going to happen very much, at least early on anyway.

Moreover, if the game does become more stretched due to the Magpies tiring or the Gunners pulling themselves back into the tie and forcing the hosts to come out and play, then the 23-year-old could just be the perfect option to come off the bench and exploit that situation, compared to Trossard who just can’t play that way.

In all, it’s not a slight on Martinelli’s performance against City, but for Arteta to give Arsenal the best chance of getting a result tonight, he should look to start the Brazilian on the bench and, in his place, start a youngster who’s proven beyond any doubt that he’s got the ability to turn games on their head.

The Arsenal star who should start vs Newcastle

So, with Martinelli vacating the right wing, Arteta should look to hand Ethan Nwaneri another start in the League Cup.

The 17-year-old dynamo may still lack the experience of his older teammates, but throughout this season, he has more than proven that he can be a serious game-changer for the Gunners.

For example, he made his first Champions League start away to Girona last week, a team who only lost to Liverpool 1-0, and totally ran the show.

Nwaneri’s game vs Girona
Minutes	87′
Expected Goals	0.16
Goals	1
Expected Assists	0.49
Shots on Target	1
Shots Blocked	1
Dribbles (Successful)	2 (2)
Touches	38
Clearances	1
All Stats via Sofascore

In 87 minutes of action, he scored a sensational goal from outside the area, racked up an expected assist figure of 0.49, completed 100% of his dribbles, and was named Man of the Match.

Then, just a few days later on Sunday, the “unplayable” talent, as dubbed by Jack Wilshere, came off the bench against City and scored another sublime curler to make it 5-1, and his reaction gave it all away, as instead of running around celebrating like most 17-year-olds would in that situation, he simply turned around and shrugged as if it was just another game to him.

On top of that, we have seen enough of him to now know that he can and wants to take on defenders with the ball at his feet, which, as we mentioned above, is going to be key if the team are to get anything out of what will likely be a defensive Toon side tonight.

Ultimately, Martinelli was great over the weekend, but the game tonight requires a different approach, one that can be carried out with aplomb by Nwaneri.