Striker’s display against West Ham was incisive, mature and well-timed given Aubameyang’s disciplinary problems
Three days before last Christmas, Gabriel Martinelli set about making up for lost time. The young forward had arrived in England with a bang but knee surgery meant he missed the opening months of 2019-20. He finally returned to the starting lineup for a Carabao Cup game against Manchester City and it was some performance: for 45 minutes Martinelli ran around like a man possessed, charging down clearances before putting himself in the line of danger. There was serious concern when he hurled himself into a 50-50 with Zack Steffen, who was marginally the favourite for a through ball, and went down in a heap; he was soon up and about but, in a poor side, the Brazilian had been the only player operating on the edge.
That frenetic night’s work came to mind on Wednesday after Mikel Arteta was asked whether Martinelli had put in the best performance of his Arsenal career against West Ham. It was certainly up there: the 20-year-old had opened the scoring with a sleek finish and, alongside the characteristic hustle, there was a refinement and precision to his general work. “He’s able to put some gears into his play,” Arteta said, referencing a tendency to “do everything at 100 miles per hour”.
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