Arsenal’s Gabriel Martinelli blames his teammate for his terrible performance.
Gabriel Martinelli, a standout for Arsenal, may have a teammate to blame for his poor performance. Mikel Arteta’s shrewd acquisition of Oleksandr Zinchenko may have had a negative effect on Martinelli’s performance.
Zinchenko is unparalleled among left-backs. The Ukrainian star drifts in the middle of the field, almost as a midfielder.
It is extremely uncommon for him to overlap Martinelli, who operates on the left flank of the attack. Granit Xhaka instead fulfills this function, but to a lesser level than other left-backs.
Therefore, Martinelli is frequently isolated, and other teams can double up on him to limit his impact on a game. A check at the average position of Arsenal players during their loss to Everton on Saturday reveals that Zinchenko provides Martinelli with little support.
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On the opposite side of the field, things are different. Ben White, although being a natural center-back, is capable of providing consistent support to Bukayo Saka on the right.
During this season, White and Saka have fostered a positive friendship and contributed to each other’s success. Martinelli is not yet completely at ease with the role he is expected to perform.
What Zinchenko is doing is not a mistake. Arteta is requesting that he play inverted and add another body to the middle.
Martinelli has only scored twice in his last eight league games, and his overall performances have declined. When Zinchenko is on the field, the Brazilian’s goal output is significantly lower than when Kieran Tierney or Takehiro Tomiyasu, who played a few games at left-back earlier in the season, were present.
Martinelli has scored seven goals this season, but only two of them have come with Zinchenko on the field. Both occurred in the season’s first two Premier League matches against Crystal Palace and Leicester.
It appears like other teams have identified a strategy to halt Martinelli while Zinchenko is on the field, and he has not yet been able to counteract this. Zinchenko has begun 12 of Arsenal’s 20 league games, while Tierney and Tomiyasu have each started four.
Martinelli has scored three goals when Tierney has been on the field, which is one more than when he has been paired with Zinchenko. He scored the same number of goals with Tomiyasu at left-back as he did with the former City great.
Tierney is a natural left-back who is far more likely to make wide offensive runs and overlap his winger than his teammates. Tomiyasu was significantly less influential than Zinchenko.
Martinelli is staying put after signing a new long-term contract. Zinchenko is apparently destined for a lengthy stay in north London, where he has become a fan favorite.
But Arteta must find a method to improve the pair’s collaboration. Martinelli possesses all the raw materials necessary to become a superstar; he must now adjust to this new task.
