Tony Cascarino says Arsenal forward Gabriel Martinelli is ‘way off his game’ in a slow season start under Mikel Arteta and looks ‘slightly lost’ after Leandro Trossard’s arrival.
Arsenal fell to a disappointing 1-0 defeat to Newcastle on Saturday, losing ground to fellow title contenders Liverpool, who have now opened up a seven-point gap.
Martinelli, who was handed his seventh start of the season, has largely struggled and was taken off in the 61st minute, completing just one successful dribble and failing to take a single shot on target.
The Brazilian was unable to outmuscle Tino Livramento on the left and failed to rise to the occasion with Arsenal still playing without their captain, Martin Odegaard, on Saturday.
Martinelli’s performances have been underwhelming since last season, and now Cascarino, speaking on talkSPORT, has admitted that the winger has struggled to impress him as well:
“I look at their forward players, and I’m not including Saka in this because, I think, largely, he’s been outstanding for Arsenal this season, but Martinelli is way off his game.
“He’s a young man. He signed a new deal not so long ago. He was flying. He seems like he’s lost his place slightly with the introduction of Trossard into the club.
“Trossard’s playing a slightly different role. He’s sort of lost his little bit of form as well.”
Martinelli, who earns £180,000-per-week, scored just eight goals across all competitions last season and has so far picked up two goals and two assists for the Gunners in the Premier League this term, three of them against bottom-five strugglers Leicester City and Southampton.
The 23-year-old’s form remains a point of concern for Arsenal, who are now winless in his last three league games and have slipped to fifth in the table after picking up just one point from the last nine available.
It remains to be seen if Arteta is willing to explore the winger market in 2025, after Arsenal were heavily linked with a new wide forward in the summer transfer window and ultimately made an emergency loan move for Raheem Sterling on deadline day.
Gabriel Martinelli’s Arsenal Stats (2024/25 Premier League) | |
Games | 10 |
Goals | 2 |
Assists | 2 |
Expected goals | 1.5 |
Expected assisted goals | 1.7 |
Minutes played | 612 |
Statistics courtesy of Fbref and Transfermarkt. Correct as of 0 5 -1 1 -24.