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'I don't want to be on the bench' - Super-sub Gabriel Martinelli rescues Arsenal, again
Arsenal were minutes away from a frustrating loss to visiting Manchester City on Sunday, but Gabriel Martinelli came to the Gunners' rescue with a brilliant stoppage-time goal as the teams played to a 1-1 draw at the Emirates.
The goal was Martinelli's second massive contribution from the bench in less than a week, as the Brazilian was also hugely influential in Arsenal's 2-0 win at Athletic Bilbao in the Champions League on Tuesday, with Martinelli scoring one of the goals and providing an assist on the other.
The 24-year-old has had to adjust to life as a substitute this season after several years in Mikel Arteta's starting XI, with newcomers Noni Madueke, Eberechi Eze, and Viktor Gyokeres all competing for playing time in an increasingly crowded Arsenal attack.
Yet despite his downgraded role, Martinelli has embraced the challenge and continues to find ways to use his speed and direct play to contribute.
"I work for those moments," Martinelli told BBC Match of the Day after Sunday's match. "I leave [the team selection] for the gaffer, he knows what he does. I just do my best to help this football club.
"Of course, I don't want to be on the bench. I want to play 90 minutes every single game, but Arteta knows what he does; he's the gaffer and everyone trusts him. We're really happy with him."
The Gunners came up against an uncharacteristically stodgy Manchester City side on Sunday, as the Sky Blues scored early and then set up shop in their own half for the rest of the game.
The unfamiliar strategy from Man City boss Pep Guardiola nearly paid off with three points for the visitors, but Martinelli's latest heroics prevented that scenario as the teams each walked away with a point.
As he describes it, Martinelli made a non-verbal connection with Eze at the decisive moment, with Arsenal's new man lobbing a searching pass over the top for Martinelli to run onto.
"I saw Ebs [Eze] getting the ball, and I tried to make eye contact with him, and once the ball was open, I made the movement, and it was a great ball from him," Martinelli explained. "I just tried to put it in the back of the net."
But while Martinelli is satisfied with his play from a personal perspective, he knows his side will need more from these games if they are to finally break their 21-year Premier League title drought.
"Of course, we wanted to win the game," he said. "I think we created a lot of chances during the game and were just a bit unlucky in certain moments.
"Happy with the goal, but we didn't want to draw the game, we wanted to win it, so let's keep working to win those ones."
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