Arsenal’s revered former player, Ian Wright, has sharply criticized the club for what he perceives as a lack of respect toward Gabriel Martinelli, who seems to be on the verge of departing from the team.
Martinelli’s omission from Mikel Arteta’s squad list during Arsenal’s 3-0 triumph over Frank Lampard’s Coventry City, marking the Premier League season’s launch, has drawn particular attention.
The talented winger, alongside teammates Ethan Nwaneri and Gabriel Jesus, appears to be facing an uncertain future with the Gunners, despite the team basking in last season’s stellar title victory.
Given Leandro Trossard’s recent switch to Besiktas, Martinelli’s absence from a potential starting position baffles many. At 25, Martinelli was instrumental last season, delivering 11 goals and seven assists across all competitions and maintaining a prominent role since his 2019 arrival.
Speaking with Sky Sports on Friday, Wright expressed his dismay: ‘When it comes to Martinelli and how the club is handling his situation, it’s deeply unsettling,’ he remarked.
Gabriel Martinelli should be given a chance to compete to start at Arsenal, says Ian Wright
He is ‘uncomfortable’ with the way the Gunners are handling Martinelli’s looming exit
‘Because he always gives 100 per cent, I’m not saying he’s the greatest, he’s really come up with some big moments for Arsenal, some big games, he’s scored some very important goals.
‘The way he’s been treated at the end here, I know they might want him out, and there’s a lot of people saying, “yeah, maybe it’s time for him to move on,” but there’s ways of doing that and it should suit him as well, how he wants to leave.
‘Not being in the squad, not being spoken to, doesn’t know what’s going on, yes, I do know this, again, not being involved in the Community Shield squad, he doesn’t know what’s happening, I think he’s got a year left [on his contract].
‘If you bring Vini [Vinicius Junior] in, that kind of level in, Martinelli can say to himself, “well, okay, they’ve brought him and Tzolis, I might be third [choice],” but if you’re bringing Tzolis in, and he’s looking at Tzolis, you look at [Noni] Madueke on the other [wing], you’re thinking to yourself, “I think I can still have it with these two, I still think I’ve got something to offer here.”
‘For him to be nowhere near it, it makes me feel sad for him.
‘I’m just saying I think he’s done enough with this team, with this squad, to be treated with a little bit more respect than he’s being treated at the moment.’
Arsenal started their title defence in dominant fashion as Kai Havertz, Bukayo Saka, and Martin Odegaard all scored to put newly promoted Coventry to the sword.
They value Martinelli around £50m but he is only willing to listen to offers from the strongest leagues.
Martinelli has been a regular with Arsenal since 2019 but they have signd Christos Tzolis
It is understandable from his perspective given that he won the Premier League and reached the final of the Champions League with the Gunners last season.
Galatasaray made a £38m offer but he does not want to move to Turkey. Roma have also shown an interest.
Martinelli has been an ever-present at the Emirates over recent years after joining from Brazilian side Ituano as an 18-year-old in 2019.
Now 25, the forward has played 278 times for the club, scoring 62 goals, including 11 strikes in 53 appearances last season.
However, Martinelli struck just once in the Premier League, and of his 30 top flight appearances, only 11 were starts, with Mikel Arteta often preferring to use Eberechi Eze and Leandro Trossard on the left.
His most productive campaign was 15 league goals in 2022-23. But his time appears to be drawing to a close – he was also left out of their Community Shield final squad.
Speaking recently on what we can expect from Arsenal over the rest of the transfer window, Arteta said: ‘There is more that we want to do.
‘Because every time we have an opportunity to improve the squad and bring more quality and depth, we need to do that.
‘We’re actively trying to do so – the thing is, in the market, it doesn’t just depend on you, and we’re very clear on that.
‘The will and the desire of the club is unquestionable, but we cannot promise that we’re going to do it because it doesn’t only depend on us.’
He added: ‘For the margins to improve, there are very few players in the market that are available to do that and bring more quality to the club. But again, we’re actively looking to improve that and we’re going to try.’