Takehiro Tomiyasu says Arsenal star is one of the ‘great players in the world’

Add as preferred source on Google

Gabriel Martinelli got himself another goal on Wednesday night as Arsenal performed superbly to beat West Ham 2-0 – and Takehiro Tomiyasu was full of praise. The Brazilian is one of the best in the world, according to Tomiyasu.

Arsenal came into the match after three defeats in their previous five games. Coming up against one of the clubs they expect to rival for a place in the top four, or six, West Ham stood in their way at The Emirates.

The scoreline favoured Arsenal at full-time. Martinelli opened the scoring just after the half-time break, after being played in by Alexandre Lacazette. The latter missed a penalty, as West Ham went down to 10 men.

But Vladimir Coufal’s removal saw Arsenal dominate and it was 2-0 on 87 minutes. A surprise substitute, Emile Smith-Rowe came off the bench to score, cutting in from the right and flashing a left-footed effort.

Speaking to the club’s official YouTube channel, Japanese defender Tomiyasu spoke about Martinelli after his second Premier League goal of the season. He labelled the Brazilian attacker “one of the great players in the world.”

“I think he is a great player. I made an assist for him against Newcastle. I thought it was too long a ball, but he is fast and has the technique to score. I think he is one of the great players in the world,” Tomiyasu said.

Tomiyasu on Martinelli: Arsenal star has potential to replace Aubameyang

Not as captqain – well, not yet, anyway. But what he can do, is replace the striker up top. He has the ability to do that, and the knack of being able to score goals that change games. He pops up at important moments.

Like Aubameyang, he has electrifying pace, brilliant dribbling ability. He can play from the left, or up top. Martinelli is the player that Aubameyang was at Dortmund – and with every minute, he is getting better.