Obviously young players need to earn their chance in the first team, but it’s often frustrating if they show some promise but don’t get chances to prove themselves, especially if the main senior options are having stuttering season.
Gabriel Martinelli has looked bright when he’s played for Arsenal and you wonder where he would be if it wasn’t for a succession of injuries that have kept him out of the team under Mikel Arteta.
He finds himself on the bench again tonight for the game against Slavia Prague, and it appears that Martin Keown wants to see him get a chance to show what he can do:
Martin Keown on @btsportfootball: "I'm going to start a campaign to get Martinelli in the team!https://t.co/tEICfUMv2b
— Chris Wheatley (@ChrisWheatley_) April 8, 2021
Looking at the line-up he would struggle to play in the number 9 role ahead of Lacazette but you would look at one of the wider positions for him, especially when Willian is given the nod and he’s been pretty poor all season.
It’s likely that reinforcements will be sought in the summer but Arsenal still don’t really know what they have in Gabriel Martinelli, so hopefully he does get a proper run of games so we can see if he’s good enough to play a big role next season.