Opinion: Arsenal’s Free-Flowing Football Needs One More Piece – and It’s Not Eze
If Arsenal are not serious about Eberechi Eze, there is one obvious transfer they will be begging Andrea Berta to make. Most Gooners will be pleading with the club’s hierarchy to get Mikel Arteta a proper left winger, because Gabriel Martinelli, once electric, now looks worryingly flat. Three pre-season games in, and Martinelli’s attacking output […] The post Opinion: Arsenal’s Free-Flowing Football Needs One More Piece – and It’s Not Eze appeared first on Just Arsenal News.
RR aka Rishi-Raj
If Arsenal are not serious about Eberechi Eze, there is one obvious transfer they will be begging Andrea Berta to make.
Most Gooners will be pleading with the club’s hierarchy to get Mikel Arteta a proper left winger, because Gabriel Martinelli, once electric, now looks worryingly flat.
Three pre-season games in, and Martinelli’s attacking output has been alarmingly poor. He is a shadow of his 2022-23 self, offering next to nothing in the final third.
Martinelli’s stats vs Spurs raise concerns
Take the 1-0 North London derby defeat in Hong Kong:
Martinelli vs Spurs
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68 minutes played
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7 passes completed
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1 shot (off target)
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0 out of 2 dribbles
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0 out of 4 duels won
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0 tackles
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5 possessions lost
Max Dowman, in just 17 minutes, had more touches than Martinelli managed in over an hour!
Creativity? Absent. 1v1 threat? Non-existent. Compared to Bukayo Saka, it is night and day. Arsenal’s attacking play is one-sided. Everything flows through the right.
Martinelli, at best, looks like a squad option or impact substitute. As a starter, he has dropped off completely. Arteta needs to see that.
Transfer solution: Leão or bust?
Arsenal need a proper left winger. Is it ambitious to ask for Rafael Leão? Maybe. But his profile does not grow on trees.
The AC Milan star is a rare breed – explosive in transition, lethal in 1v1s and strikes the ball with venom. He is the kind of dynamic winger who changes games. Not just unlocking low blocks, but ripping through them.
Andrea Berta and Arteta must find the funds. If Arsenal want to win the league, they need Leão-level quality on the left.
Eze is a low-block killer, yes, but he is better centrally. He is not the explosive winger Arsenal lack. So, without a top-class left winger, the Gunners risk another season of attacking imbalance and transition struggles.
Your thoughts welcome in the comments.
Daniel O
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The post Opinion: Arsenal’s Free-Flowing Football Needs One More Piece – and It’s Not Eze appeared first on Just Arsenal News.
