Arsenal will be looking to bounce back from a poor week of results as they let their lead slip in the Premier League title race…
Who could be dropped against Aston Villa?
Mikel Arteta’s men were defeated by Everton last weekend before losing 3-1 to defending champions Manchester City at the Emirates Stadium on Wednesday evening, meaning they dropped off the top spot, surrendering it to the Citizens.
The Spaniard will now be sweating over how he regains momentum ahead of this afternoon’s trip to Aston Villa. He and his side are in need of a response in what is an absolute must-win encounter.
One player likely to face the axe is Takehiro Tomiyasu after Arteta singled out his catastrophic blunder at the back, though he shouldn’t be the only star to drop to the bench as Gabriel Martinelli’s struggles in the final third have surely contributed to the Gunners’ struggles in 2023.
How has Gabriel Martinelli been performing?
The 21-year-old speedster started the season like a house on fire, registering seven goals and two assists in 18 matches, leaving him amongst the top-six performers in the squad.
However, in his last six outings, the Brazil international has failed to register a single goal contribution despite starting each of those matches. His average WhoScored rating across those games is just 6.48, which is well below his seasonal average of 7.15.
In each of his last five appearances, the “isolated” Martinelli – as recently described by journalist Jason Soutar – has been hooked well in advance of full-time, meaning he has only been on the pitch for an average of 74 minutes per game, so clearly Arteta is seeing that his influence has waned recently – the only other attacker to have played more minutes this term is Bukayo Saka.
Arsenal bolstered Arteta’s squad during the January window, adding Brighton and Hove Albion dynamo Leandro Trossard into the mix for around £27m, this – if anything – should have elevated Martinelli’s game even more as it’s genuine competition for places but instead, it seems to have had an adverse effect.
As a result, Arteta must look to take the £35m-rated gem – who was hailed as a “real diamond” by teammate Oleksandr Zinchenko – out of the firing line until he regains some confidence at London Colney.
With Trossard waiting in the wings, it should be an easy switch for the Gunners boss to make and whilst Martinelli is a big part of why Arsenal are challenging for their first title in nearly a decade, such blind faith could ultimately cost Arteta a chance at making history.
AND in other news, Arteta could sign own Mane in £48m-rated “monster”, he’d be “unstoppable” at Arsenal…