Is it the system or is it the player? Man, I wish I knew where Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has been hiding this season. The Gabonese scoring machine has had a very difficult season for Arsenal, and in many cases has disappeared from the pitch, even when he’s on it. The Liverpool match is a perfect example.
Let’s look at his stats…
2020-2021: 32 games – 14 goals
2019-2020: 44 games – 29 goals
2018-2019: 51 games – 31 goals
2017-2018: 14 games – 10 goals
Obviously, there has been a pretty serious drop-off in his goal production this season. Now at 31, has Auba begun to fall off his once amazing level of performing? Is is Martinelli time?
Arsenal legendary player Martin Keown wrote this in his recent column for Mail Sport, “Arteta has a big decision to make on his captain. He set an example by dropping Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang for the north London derby recently. Aubameyang was supposed to start against Spurs but turned up late and was pulled. Should Arteta not be dropping him for performing as poorly as he did against Liverpool? If he sticks with him, he risks losing the respect of the group. It’s time to bring in 19-year-old Gabriel Martinelli. He is too good to be sitting on the bench. His teammates see him in training and know what he can do. They will be baffled by his continued absence. I know I am. Use him on the left. Use Martinelli’s fellow 19-year-old Bukayo Saka on the right. Start Emile Smith Rowe. Then you’ll have a team who can pose problems for the opposition. There were too many passengers against Liverpool.”
Now, don’t get me wrong. I’m a huge fan of Aubameyang. He has made major contributions to this club for several years. However, in our current state of trying to find consistency and even an identity – Is it Martinelli time?
What have we got to lose, especially in the remaining 8 Premier League matches.
The 19-year-old Brazilian has overcome injuries, seems to be fit and ready to play, so why not give him a chance and continue building his future for Arsenal?
So, is it Martinelli time? Why not? I think it is.
Cheers.
Gunner1953
David Raya has officially won the Premier League’s Golden Glove Award for 2023/2024. Raya has earned 14 clean sheets. Congratulations!
According to The Telegraph, Arsenal will consider a move this summer for Newcastle United midfielder Bruno Guimaraes.
Stat of the Day #2: Kai Havertz has been directly involved in 11 goals in his last 10 Premier League matches with 7 goals and 4 assists.
Auba has helped us win cups and keep the club attractive to top talent – but that lustre is rapidly giving way to rust. He’s getting older, he looks tired, he looks like he’s coasting. There’s no way to know, but it feels like he wishes he were with a club where success is somehow guaranteed and he doesn’t have to try so hard.
It would be nice to have him play a role in winning the Europa league so we can celebrate an achievement and remember him with fondness, but the youth are the future – of that there should be no doubt. Arteta has a habit of leaning on his senior team and not trusting youth. Saka, ESR, Tierney all basically had to wait for injuries to get a look. Were it up to Arteta, they might never play. As a result, the seniors get fatigued and we lose winnable games.
Arteta needs to play the players that perform best on the pitch and who give 110%. Right now that is not Auba. Auba is older. He needs more rest, and needs to be benched more often to make him hungry. Martinelli should definitely be playing more. He showed how hungry and talented he is last season, so not using him at all just doesn’t make sense. He’s hungry, he presses, he is more than a handful for any defender, and he scores goals. We need an infusion of all of those in the team ASAP,
Martinelli is needed very good than lacazette and auba coz them are old version also nothing special can help us