Pundit says Arsenal star is living off his form from two years ago and shouldn’t be playing now

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In the immediate aftermath of Arsenal’s victory over Aston Villa on Saturday, Mikel Arteta probably felt that he could have hardly asked for much more from his side as they claimed what could be a huge three points this season.

Arsenal rode their luck at times, with Ollie Watkins missing two glorious chances – David Raya made an unbelievable save to deny Watkins during the second-half at Villa Park. But goals from Leandro Trossard and Thomas Partey in the second-half gave Arsenal the win.

Of course, Trossard managed to stake a strong claim to start. Certainly, it appeared that Trossard did not celebrate due to his frustration with not starting more games, with the Belgian coming off the bench and breaking the deadlock two minutes later. For some, it may not have been a huge surprise that the 29-year-old being on the pitch proved to be the catalyst for Arsenal getting the job done.

It was Gabriel Martinelli who had started on the left for the Gunners, and he received an early boost with Matty Cash coming off with injury and being replaced by Kosta Nedeljkovic.

Arsenal star shouldn’t be starting games after Aston Villa win

However, Martinelli struggled to take the game by the scruff of the neck, often making the wrong decision when he got the chance to run with the ball.

It feels like a big season for the Brazilian after he only scored six goals and contributed four assists in the Premier League last year. But speaking on The Optus Sport Football Podcast, Jay Bothroyd suggested that he is not convinced that the 23-year-old should continue to start.

“I actually don’t think that Martinelli deserves to be playing, I think he’s living off his form from a couple of seasons ago, living off the name from a couple of seasons ago where he scored 17 goals or something like that,” he said.

“He played really well, but the way Arsenal play, Trossard suits that Arsenal team better because he comes into little pockets, he receives the ball in between the lines, he’s a good finisher – because that was a great finish. That was really clinical in a big time in the game.”

Why this may now be a defining period in Gabriel Martinelli’s career

There was a spell when Arsenal appeared to have one of the most exciting pairs of wingers in the world in Bukayo Saka and Martinelli, with the latter scoring 15 top flight goals in the 2022/23 season.

Saka continues to go from strength to strength with one goal and two assists in the first two games of the new campaign, but Martinelli is yet to open his account.

Of course, he is still a youngster so he is going to have trickier periods where he is less impressive. But he is now reaching an age where he needs to start turning potential into consistent game-changing performances. Arsenal meanwhile, are a completely different side to the one he signed for.

He definitely has that world-class quality in the locker, but he now needs to take that next step particularly at a time when Trossard probably has every right to knock on Arteta’s door.