Arteta must ditch Martinelli and unleash Arsenal's goalscoring “wizard”.

The Premier League is finally back in full swing and with every team having played their first game, there is a lot to talk about, especially when it comes to Arsenal.

Mikel Arteta's side will have one goal this season: to end their twelve-year drought at the time of asking.

Fortunately, they got off to a good start last weekend, winning 2-0 against a Wolverhampton Wanderers side who are probably better than people give them credit for.

That said, while there were plenty of good performances on the day, including the likes of Kai Havertz, Bukayo Saka, and David Raya, there were a few sad ones, most notably Gabriel Martinelli.

The Brazilian has a big season ahead of him to convince the manager that he is the long-term answer on the left wing, but based on his performances for the Old Gold, he should be cleared for the toughest test which will be Aston Villa. this afternoon.

Martinelli's performance at Wolves

So, the first thing to say is that Martinelli is an undeniably talented player. You have to look back to the 22/23 campaign where he scored 21 goals and assists to see that, and he is still young enough to come to Arsenal, but last season it was difficult, and so was last weekend.

The Brazilian player was given the chance to start, and while he showed his old self, he still struggled to assert his authority in the proceedings, made a few bad decisions and ended the game as the only member of the three players who started the game without a goal. or to help.

His display did not particularly impress football. The chief writer of London's Arsenal, Kayak Kaynak, who gave him 6/10 on the day and wrote that while he put in 'good work to get into good positions' 'his final product remains. little problem.'

Overall, it wasn't a terrible game, but it was dull, and while that's not a big problem in a home game against a team like Wolves, in an away game at Villa Park. So, in this afternoon's game, the 23-year-old must be dropped from the bench to make way for a controversial player who was one of the most effective attackers for the Gunners last season: Leandro Trossard.

Why Trossard should start against Villa

Of course, it should come as no surprise that the man we have chosen to replace Martinelli in this afternoon's debate is Trossard.

The Belgian international has been incredible for the Gunners since his surprise £27m move to the club in January 2023.

In his first half of the season as an Arsenal player, he notched ten assists and one goal in just 22 games, the equivalent of one goal involvement in every other game.

Then, in his first full campaign last season, the fascinating “witch”, as he was named by reporter Charlie Haffendenhe became a major threat in his own right, scoring 17 times in 46 games and providing two assists to start.

This meant that over a period of ten months, the 29-year-old averaged one goal every 2.42 games and was the club's second leading goalscorer.

Therefore, if we look at how Trossard was undeniably effective for most of the 23/24 and how Martinelli was ineffective then, and on Saturday, it is clear that it should be the former star of Brighton & Hove Albion who starts this afternoon.

Furthermore, in a game as challenging as this one, Arteta will want his most reliable goalscorers on the pitch, and the Belgian is undoubtedly one of them.