March 19, (THEWILL) – Gabriel Martinelli’s impressive display in Arsenal’s 4-1 win over Crystal Palace has earned him praise from manager Mikel Arteta.
As THEWILL reported, the young Brazilian missed a crucial penalty against Sporting CP in the Europa League last-16 shoot-out defeat just days before, but he bounced back with a well-taken opener against Palace.
Arteta revealed that he had debated whether to include Martinelli in the starting line-up, but the decision paid off. “The reaction he had after missing the penalty… There’s always the question,” Arteta said in post-match comments. “But I asked him how he was and he said he wants to be in the team.”
Martinelli’s goal took his English Premier League tally to 13 this season, making him Arsenal’s top scorer. He is also the first Arsenal player aged 21 or under to score as many goals in a single campaign since Nicolas Anelka in the 1998/1999 campaign. Martinelli reflected on his penalty miss, saying: “Of course, I was sad and spent the whole night thinking about that penalty, but it is over. I scored a goal today and we got the three points, which is the most important thing.”
Bukayo Saka was also instrumental in the victory, scoring two goals and assisting Martinelli’s opener. Saka is the only player in the EPL this season with double figures for both goals (12) and assists (10). Despite the impressive win, Arteta was disappointed with his side’s defence for Jeffrey Schlupp’s consolation goal for Palace.
Arsenal have 22 EPL wins this season, eight points clear of Manchester City, who have a game in hand.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
