One year from Martinelli praise, Arsenal must call upon Joe Willock

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In November 2019, Gabriel Martinelli claimed that Arsenal teammate Joe Willock possessed Brazilian qualities and 12 months down the line the time has come for Mikel Arteta to unleash the youngster.

The academy graduate has been a standout performer in the Europa League, starring in all three group games so far this season.

For whatever reason though the 21-year-old has been unable to impress Arteta sufficiently to earn himself a Premier League opportunity.

Willock does already have 33 league outings to his name at Arsenal but it just hasn’t worked out this season.

Only Arteta will know why he hasn’t utilised the youngster in the league yet but a change of tact could now be required.

Arsenal have struggled for creativity during the 2020/21 campaign and Martinelli’s comments highlight Willock as the man to change that.

Last year, the 19-year-old was asked during a Facebook Q&A about his teammate.

He said: “I think Joe Willock has the most Brazilian style.

“He has personality, he doesn’t keep his head down, he always drives forward. He takes the ball and tries to dribble one player, then another.

“Joe doesn’t hide away in games. He’s always searching for the best options. I think his style is similar to the Brazilian way.”

Arsenal were battered 3-0 by Aston Villa prior to the international break, leaving Arteta with more questions than answers.

The Gunners had praised the week before for a comfortable performance in a 1-0 win over Manchester United at Old Trafford.

Conundrum

A creative spark has certainly been lacking though and Willock could be the answer.

In Europe, he has been deployed as a conventional midfielder and in the No.10 role, performing well in each role.

Arteta will be learning a lot about his squad with each passing game but the lack of a creative spark is alarming.

Martinelli’s comments from a year ago are now pretty interesting and the Gunners boss would surely welcome some of Willock’s ‘Brazilian’ flair in his ranks this weekend.