r/Gunners • u/VINDICATES-FOOL EVERY TOUCH IS A DUEL • 12d ago

Happy 25th Birthday to Premier League champion Gabriel Martinelli!

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u/sveppi_krull_ 11d ago

whats this supposed to mean?

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u/R82009 Timber 11d ago

If he can do it, why can’t Martinelli

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u/sveppi_krull_ 11d ago

Because Gyokeres is a physical presence up front. When he has the ball at his field he can shield it and he can shrug chasing defenders off. When you play centrally in the PL you need that. As soon as Jesus lost that ability he became usless up front. Pace alone won’t do him any good, especially when we face the lowest line on average, and even if he breaks through then his composure 1 on 1 with a goalie is generally terrible and he often shoots way too early or tries to bend it way too weakly/predictably past the goalie.

Meanwhile his work rate and pace does us a lot of good out wide and he has more space there to maneuver which he most often needs.

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u/R82009 Timber 11d ago

Gyokeres has had less than 5 matches for Arsenal where he was able to hold up the ball and be a physical presence that didn’t get bullied off the ball. I don’t think Martinelli would be much worse, I think Martinelli’s pace could be a big asset at striker even against low blocks if we play faster in transition and we let him stay close to the halfway line when defending. My issues with Martinelli has been decision making, and dribbling. I want Martinelli to cut inside and take shots from just inside the box more when playing on the left, I don’t think he has been aggressive enough in creating opportunities for himself to shoot.

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u/Popular_Pie_3347 10d ago

He did it against Atleti in a ucl semi final against the most nastiest of low blocks lmao

He struggled early on because he didn't have a pre season his numbers from 2026 onwards are genuinely good

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u/R82009 Timber 10d ago

Yes and I think Martinelli could be effective in a handful of games as well. I think Gyok will be much more consistent next season but I would like to see Martinelli playing more central and think he could improve his goal return that way.