Martinelli Has Been Outstanding For Arsenal – Arteta

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta believes that young forward Gabriel Martinelli has improved a great deal recently.

The forward was struggling to get game time under Arteta over the past 12 months.

However, Martinelli has started the last five games in the Premier League, and scoring three goals in the past two matches.

“You cannot play every action at 100mph, it is impossible,” Arteta said, per Metro.

“It is not very efficient for you because you burn yourself out after a few minutes, and then you just chasing a situation and not reading exactly what is needed. Gabriel is doing much better at that. We have to try to do that without losing the passion, the energy and this capacity he has to just affect the game with the way he acts on the pitch.

READ ALSO: My Journey As Arsenal Coach Has Been Incredible – Mikel Arteta

“He trains incredibly hard, he is always willing to do more and he is not scared or afraid to take risks, and that is what I like about him.”

Asked if he would ever want to play against Martinelli, Arteta added: “I can imagine, you’re not going to have any time on the ball.

“Every time the ball is 50/50 he is going to chase it and he’s going to use his body, his speed, his technical ability to get away from you. And you have to be careful, because he can attack you one v one, he can attack your back, he can make movements off the ball. He is a real threat in front of goal.”