Need to find right space for Gabriel Martinelli to grow, proclaims Mikel Arteta

Gabriel Martinelli announed his arrival in the top flight of English football in style in his debut campaign in the 2019/20 season as he scored ten goals and provided four assists in 26 appearances across all competitions. The Brazilian looked destined to reach the top of European football after his first campaign with the English side but it has not gone according to plan for the Arsenal star. 

A knee injury towards the end of his first campaign with the London side and other minor injuries has hampered his development as he has struggled for gametime under Mikel Arteta. Martinelli also faces stiff competition from Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Alexandre Lacazette, Nicolas Pepe, Bukayo Saka, and Emile Smith Rowe for an attacking spot in Arteta's starting XI. 

The 20-year-old has only played 150 minutes in the league this season across two games in the current campaign while only making four appearances in total. Three of those appearances came in August when the Arsenal squad was decimated with injuries and issues regarding Covid-19. Questions are asked if the attacker would be better off going out on loan but Arteta has shut down those rumours.

“No, I'm very happy with him and we aren't thinking about anything like that. He had some games that he played, he started against Brentford and he started against Chelsea as well. Unfortunately, he got injured last week, it is a minor injury but we don't know if he is going to be available for Monday but we have a lot of trust with Gabby and we need to find the right space for him to grow within the squad,” Arteta said in his pre-match press conference.

“We sometimes forget his age, what he's done and where he is and we need to try to help him as well to maintain that balance because you can generate frustration that comes out of, in my opinion, an unrealistic diagnosis and you need time to do that,” he added.