After Aubameyang was disciplined, fans were worried about Arsenal's forward scoring ability. However, the 20-year-old Martinelli successfully took over the captain's shooting boots and became the team's sharp knife.
Facing Manchester City on goal, 4 of the 5 shots were deflected, and the missed 3 scoring opportunities was just a beautiful accident. The youngster, who has tried out at Manchester United, has a bright future, just like this young Arsenal team.
01. Once Greenwood's partner: Manchester United's mistakes made Arsenal profitable
Martinelli has a deep relationship with the city of Manchester, which may also be the reason why he is a little "weak" in the face of Manchester City today, but the team that was extremely close to "concluding a contract" with him was Manchester United.
In the 2 years from the age of 14 to 16, Martinelli came to England four times to receive trials and inspections from Manchester United. At that time, he was Greenwood's forward partner, took photos with Evra and Fellaini, and received many attentions from Pogba.
However, Manchester United did not give him a professional contract in the end, and giants such as Real Madrid and Barcelona were once closer to signing him, but Martinelli chose to sign with Arsenal.
It is worth mentioning that the young man now has a choice of future belonging, that is, whether to play for the Brazilian national team or the Italian national team in the future.
Although he grew up in a small club in the Brazilian state of São Paulo, Martinelli had an Italian passport because of his father. In contrast, he prefers to be a Brazil international, but this summer's defeat in Brazil's Olympic squad has hit him hard.
Will the Italian national team naturalize the 20-year-old striker before this World Cup match? Maybe they shouldn't just focus on veteran João Pedro.
02. Nominal left winger: Actually a striker
After abandoning Aubameyang, Arsenal have nominally made Lacazette a centre-forward in the past few games, but in fact he has played more like a forward, with Martinelli frequently closing in from the nominal left winger position to become an arrow forward.
In particular, the Manchester City right-back used The Biased Canselo in this game has given Martinelli too many opportunities.
It can be seen that in the transition between attack and defense, Lacazette's position is obviously behind, and Martinelli leads the way. He received a long pass from the goalkeeper, pushed forward strongly and then cut inside.
Lacazette rushed in and then passed to Odegaard on the flank of the back point, creating the Gunners' first scoring opportunity of the game. Ederson's tackle even required VAR to confirm a foul, but the foot was shoveled clean.
Lacazette's forward style of play is also very suitable for Martinelli, who has a good ability to intersperse the ball. In arsenal's previous win over West Ham United, Martinelli's forward insertion this time happened to take advantage of the problem of the slow turn of opponent Dawson.
Lacazette's ability to take the ball is very good, as he grows older, it is difficult for him to directly attack the opponent's defense, and Martinelli closes in from the left side to the middle of the road, which just complements each other. This time the strong impact led to a beautiful goal.
Arsenal's victory over West Ham united on their way back to the top four was a crucial one, and Martinelli was the big star of that game.
There were similar opportunities in this game, but Thomas's pass to the flank Martinelli quickly entered the box and his shot was deflected by Ederson.
03. Martinelli is not just a sharp edge: his defense is also good
As mentioned above, Arsenal's current attacking system is asymmetrical, and Martinelli and Lacazette often consciously switch positions in the game. At the same time, on the defensive end, Martinelli had to retreat to the position of full-back and take on part of the offensive and defensive conversion task.
As can be seen from the GIF, this time after the rib attack coordination error, Arsenal's double back moved forward and backwards one by one, and the weak side of Fuan Jianyang quickly returned to the defense.
At the same time, Martinelli on the front line was also the first to chase back and complete a strong break.
Martinelli not only provides a defensive role after retreating, but more importantly, he has a good ability to carry the ball and can launch counterattacks on his own.
It is clear from the GIF that this time Martinelli broke the ball and hit the space left on the flank after Canselo's reception.
Although he finally forced the ball into the box to shoot himself, the last forced acceleration and a second pass by Canceló fully demonstrated Martinelli's personal ability.
In this game with Manchester City's statistics, Martinelli has 3 interceptions and 1 steal, and a total of 4 successful defenses are impressive. 5 successful dribbling attempts 3 times also illustrate his ability to do so.
Unfortunately, 4 of the 5 shots on goal were deflected, and many scoring opportunities were missed, which became an important reason why Arsenal did not win this game.
In the second half, because of Laporte's mistake, which led to a crisis in the Manchester City backline, Martinelli was blocked by the referee, so that he could not shoot with his right foot, changed to a left-footed reverse foot, and finally the ball hit the goal frame unluckily, missing the opportunity to empty the goal.
Conclusion:
The loss was a setback for Martinelli's growth path, but more people saw the potential of the 20-year-old striker.
Replacing Aubameyang as the Gunners' starter, Martinelli's performance will determine whether Arsenal can return to the top four at the end of the season and return to the Champions League.
Whether or not it can be done in the end, the growth of young people is ultimately Arsenal's wealth and harvest, and will be the basis for future success.