‘He was petrified’: Ian Wright says £6m Arsenal player scared the life out of Sevilla man last night

Add as preferred source on Google

Arsenal beat Sevilla 2-1 on Tuesday evening, but, in some respects, that scoreline is flattering for the La Liga side.

Indeed, while this game looks close on the surface, Arsenal were brilliant at times going forwards, and they probably should’ve scored more than twice.

Arsenal’s attackers were flying on the day, with Gabriel Jesus putting in his best performance of the season, while Gabriel Martinelli was also excellent.

Speaking on the Wrighty’s House Podcast, Ian Wright has been full of praise for Martinelli’s performance against Sevilla, claiming that his presence down the left flank scared the life out of Jesus Navas at right-back.

Martinelli scared Navas

Wright spoke about how the £6m man frightened the full-back.

“Can I just say sitting on the left side. Watching Navas vs Martinelli, you could visibly see that Navas was afraid. You could see his face and how he dropped off, he had a covering midfielder, he was petrified of Martinelli,” Wright said.

Testament to Martinelli

This is a real testament to Martinelli’s ability.

Make no mistake about it. Jesus Navas is one of the most experienced full-backs in Europe, and if he was scared of Martinelli, that’s because he’s a truly special player.

Navas has seen it all over the years and it takes a lot to put him on the back foot, but Martinelli is now in that elite echelon of wingers where he’s able to put that sort of fear into almost any defender he comes up against.

As it proved, Navas was scared for good reason as Martinelli roasted him down that flank, eventually scoring a crucial goal that ultimately secured the win for Arsenal.

We’ve waited a while to see Martinelli shining at Champions League level, and now, he’s finally shown us what he can do in Europe.

Martinelli is a very special player, that’s for sure.