Maybe I should’ve gone for Martinelli and Silva linings as the title of this post, but that felt too cute by half. There’s no escaping it, though, Arsenal have a new lethal marksman who is eerily reminiscent of the No. 9 who was on his way to becoming a club legend when he was cut off at the ankle by Martin Taylor against Birmingham City in 2008.
Martinelli has scored three in his last two games, and the goals have prompted different discussions about which former Arsenal striker the 20-year-old most resembles. His finish during Wednesday’s 2-0 win over West Ham prompted comparisons to the club’s all-time record goalscorer:
There was some credence to this. After all, Martinelli had cut in from the left at pace to latch onto a through pass with a neat touch before slotting the ball across Lukasz Fabianski and into the bottom right-hand corner. Very Titi Henry.
A different viewpoint surfaced when Martinelli raced clear at Elland Road to double Arsenal’s lead, en route to a hugely impressive 4-1 win over Leeds United on Saturday. The pace was electric, if pace can ever really be called electric. It can now, so back the fuck off young ‘un.
Martinelli being so swift of foot put some in mind of another Coltish French striker from the glory years of Arsene Wenger:
Never any harm in remembering just how good Anelka was during his Arsenal days, but as for this comparison? Not for me, Jeff…
The Arsenal striker Martinelli most reminds me of is Eduardo Da Silva. Let’s start with the quality of their finishing.
Martinelli’s second goal against Leeds perfectly summed up his class. He stayed typically cool and calm, the norm for Gabi when he’s through on goal. The Brazilian is no shrinking violet, though. Instead, he’s ruthlessly efficient when chances come his way.
That should remind everybody of Eduardo, who, in no time at all, became a finisher you backed whenever he got one-on-one with the ‘Keeper. He usually converted those chances the same way. With a casual side-foot finish into the bottom corner. Always just out of the reach of the despairing man between the sticks.
That’s why Martinelli’s second on Saturday put me more in mind of “Arsenal’s No. 9!” It was Eduardo vs. Blackburn Rovers in the League Cup QF in 2007.
Both goals followed the same pattern. A long through-pass to split the lines. Alex Song played the ball for Eduardo at Ewood Park, while Granit Xhaka sent Martinelli clear in Yorkshire.
Both strikers out-sprinted their markers before finishing with an ease that belied their impressive technique. Eddie passed the ball around Brad Friedel, Gabi deftly lifted it over Illan Meslier.
Martinelli is already encouraging the same kind of confidence Eduardo created when in on goal. When Gabriel goes through, he scores. Simple as. Rinse and repeat.
There’s also a touch of the poacher in Martinelli’s game. His first against Leeds came from inside the box. It was instinctive and instant, the kind of snap finish true goalscorers produce. Eduardo’s first two goals for Arsenal, at the expense of Sparta Prague and Sevilla, were both tap-ins from inside the box.
If you need one more similarity, think about the type of signings both players represent. Smart scouting and modest spending to unearth hidden talents the mega-rich ignored.
Wenger snapped up Eduardo from Dinamo Zagreb for just £7.5 million, while Martinelli set Arsenal back a mere £6 million when he arrived from the nether regions of Brazilian football in 2019. Score one for everybody’s least-favourite technical director, Edu…
Of course, nobody wants to jinx Martinelli into suffering the same fate as Eduardo, who was brutally cut down right at the moment he was reaching stardom:
Arsenal win the league in 2007/08 if Eddie stays fit. Wenger’s promising young team, still the best this club has fielded during the Emirates Stadium years, unravelled once Gael Clichy blundered and William Gallas threw his toys out of the pram. They cost Arsenal the win at St. Andrew’s but the real damage was done earlier when Eduardo’s foot was left dangling in the mud.
Arsenal drew games against Birmingham, Villa, Wigan and Middlesbrough in the wake of his injury. Four points from a run that should have yielded at least 10. Arsenal finished third that season, just four points behind champions Shited.
Martinelli can achieve the greatness Eduardo was cruelly denied. In the process, Gabi will become this season’s saviour for Mikel Arteta. The player who emerges from obscurity to breathe life into a listless team. Think Emile Smith Rowe last Christmas.
It’s already happening, even though Arteta has taken his sweet time waking up to Martinelli’s potential. The player’s talent was already obvious during the days of Unai Emery.
Martinelli has inspired Arsenal to three wins on the spin since Arteta sat Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang down. There was some justification for the decision, but there’s also no doubt Arteta saw an opportunity and was pretty calculated about taking his star to task publicly to deflect attention away from shit results and reassert his own authority.
Ultimately, wins cure most, if not all, ills, and Martinelli is delivering those. Just don’t call him Anelka or Henry. He’s every inch Eduardo Mark II.
The 49 Steps 
[…] Bukayo Saka is purring, Emile Smith Rowe is lethal off the bench, while Gabriel Martinelli is the second coming of Eduardo da Silva. Yet, Odegaard is the player making things […]
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