Gary Neville has lauded Arsenal newbie Noni Madueke, and his emergence will lead to Mikel Arteta’s next justified axe of a current mainstay…
We at F365 have spoken out against Arteta more than most as he is under serious pressure to deliver this season following their huge summer spend, but he deserves credit for sanctioning brutal exits from Arsenal when the conditions are right.
From Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to Aaron Ramsdale, Arteta is always willing to make a tough decision and Gabriel Martinelli should be the next key star to be shown the door.
As the flashy winger progressed through the ranks at Arsenal, he was widely considered to be on par with Bukayo Saka, but he has been left in the dust by the England international over the past couple of years.
While Saka has developed into one of the best wingers in the world, Martinelli has stagnated and arguably got worse in recent years, as the calls for him to be axed are spreading.
This season is a huge crossroads moment in the Brazil international’s career, as for the first time, he has quality competition from not one, but two teammates vying for starts on the left flank, and his standing as a first-team mainstay is under real threat.
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Summer signings Madueke and Eberechi Eze are his competitors, and on the evidence of their respective starts to this season, they should already be ahead of Martinelli in the pecking order.
Eze impressed for Crystal Palace before making more of an impact off the bench against Liverpool than Martinelli did from the start, while Madueke sparkled for England during the international break.
Manchester United legend Gary Neville has lauded Madueke on The Overlap, saying: “He’s obviously a lot better on the right and that was clear when Saka went off the other week. Could Saka play on the left?
“[Gabriel] Martinelli’s struggling a little bit on that left-hand side, could Saka go back on the left and leave Madueke where he is?
“You can see quite clearly Madueke looks a hell of a player on that right-hand side. (Against Serbia) some of his runs were really top level.”
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Ian Wright swiftly shut Neville down for suggesting that Saka could swap wings and we’re siding with the Arsenal legend on that one, but the point remains that with Madueke and Eze in the building, Martinelli is on borrowed time and could easily drop to the bench in the coming weeks en route to leaving next year.
Martinelli’s contract status is another reason why he is exit-bound, with the winger’s current deal due to expire in 2027.
In the summer, Martinelli attracted interest from the Saudi Pro League and Bayern Munich, who failed with a cheeky bid worth up to 35 million euros (£30m).
At the time, Fabrizio Romano claims Arsenal quickly swatted it away, and this is understandable, but a cut-price fee in this region will suddenly become acceptable for a player entering the final year of his contract and could/should have been usurped in the pecking order by Madueke, Eze or both by the 2026 transfer windows.
