Report: Arteta left furious by one Martinelli moment in Arsenal win

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Mikel Arteta was left venting his anger and disgust in the direction of Albert Stuivenberg after Gabriel Martinelli abandoned his defensive position while covering for Kieran Tierney as Arsenal beat Watford on Sunday, according to a report from Football London.

The Gunners have put themselves into the top-four with another victory at the weekend. They certainly look to be in pole position for that spot with three games in hand over the two sides below them.

Their only Premier League defeat in the last two months came against Manchester City. And they have now won their last four.

However, it would be naive to get too carried away after the 3-2 win against Watford. Defensively, there were some really worrying moments.

In fact, Arteta could not hide his frustration on the touchline. Football London reports that there was one moment when Martinelli – who cost £6 million – made a burst forward at a point when he was meant to be covering for Tierney.

The report claims that Arteta turned to Stuivenberg in a mixture of anger and disgust at Martinelli neglecting that position.

Clear upside of Martinelli incident taking place in game Arsenal win – even if Arteta was left infuriated

Arsenal have not kept a clean sheet in three. That is a surprise on some levels. The Gunners have improved defensively this season. And they have had a largely consistent backline unit.

The positive for Arsenal is that their defensive issues came to the fore in a win. They now have no excuses not to improve. But they also have three more points in the bag.

Arsenal have to step up now. They have a daunting run of games ahead. They still have to play all of their rivals for a top-four spot. And they will also come up against Liverpool.

Martinelli is going to have a big role to play for Arsenal going forward. But clearly, Arteta is keen to see him also tick a lot more boxes.