Arsenal will be hoping Gabriel Martinelli’s impactful display off the bench against Crystal Palace can be the turning point in his 2023/2024 campaign. The Brazilian star was pivotal to the Gunners success last season with 15 goals and five assists from 36 Premier League games.
However, he hasn’t been firing on all cylinders as of late. Before his brace against the Eagles, Martinelli hadn’t scored in eight games – the opener in Arsenal’s seven-goal thriller with Luton Town.
His only other Premier League goal before that came during a dramatic 1-0 win over Manchester City all the way back in August via a fortuitous deflection. In short, Martinelli hasn’t been clinical enough in front of goal.
The 22-year-old is often criticised for taking too many touches in the opposition’s box and has seen a steady decline in the number of shots he is taking per 90 minutes this season from 2.53 in 2022/2023 to 2.39 in 2023/2024 while his goals per 90 minutes have dropped from 0.48 to 0.27.
When at his best, he is among the Premier League’s top wingers and if he can refind his feet at the Emirates then it will be a massive boost to Arsenal’s title hopes as they look to close the gap on Liverpool at the top of the table.
The Reds are all too familiar with Martinelli’s quality. Jurgen Klopp once hailed him as a ‘talent of the century’ in 2019 when a fresh-faced Martinelli, then 18-years-old, scored twice during a 5-5 Carabao Cup draw with Liverpool.
“Martinelli’s pretty much the same age but he’s a talent of the century, he’s an incredible striker, so it’s really difficult,” said the Liverpool boss. There were signs of the excellence that has previously earned him such lofty praise against Palace on Saturday as Arsenal thrashed their London rivals 5-0 at home to end a dismal three-game losing streak.
Martinelli was subbed on for Leandro Trossard in the 69th minute and instantly injected some pace into the game. In added time, he grabbed two goals in two minutes, both of which came from penetrating runs off the final man. Despite the angles being tight, Martinelli was able to slot the ball past Dean Henderson at the far post with immense composure.
