‘Had a little chuckle to myself’… BBC pundit wowed by 22-year-old Arsenal ace v Sevilla

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Arsenal forward Gabriel Martinelli drew praise from BBC Sport pundit Matthew Upson during the Gunners’ Champions League meeting with Sevilla on Wednesday night.

Mikel Arteta’s charges hosted the La Liga outfit at the Emirates Stadium, and Arsenal hoped to get back to winning ways after two defeats in a row in all competitions.

The Gunners were impressive in the first half, taking the lead through Leandro Trossard in the 29th minute after pressure from the first minute.

Declan Rice won the ball back in midfield and it was worked to Jorginho, who delivered an outstanding through-ball for Bukayo Saka into the box.

With the Sevilla defence split wide open from the Brazilian’s outstanding pass, Saka coolly squared for Trossard to slot home from close range.

‘Martinelli going round Juanlu twice’

Meanwhile, Martinelli gave opposition right-back Juanlu Sanchez a torrid time.

As per Squawka, no defender has been dribbled past more times in a Champions League game this season than the Sevilla man, with Martinelli going past him five times in the first half.

And Upson, speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live, admitted he had a bit of a laugh upon seeing the 22-year-old Arsenal ace make a mockery of his market.

“I just had a little chuckle to myself because of Martinelli going round Juanlu twice,” he said, as per BBC Sport (8/11/23, 20:31). “He just doesn’t want to go out to him.”

Martinelli went on to assist Saka for Arsenal’s second goal, the Brazilian threading the ball through for his teammate to cut inside, beat his marker and curl home.

The Gunners widemen were both in sensational form against Sevilla, and to think that both are just 22 years of age, it’ll be exciting to see how they continue to develop at Arsenal.