Sports
Berta holding Arsenal talks to sign “special” Martinelli replacement
Arsenal drew at home against Premier League champions Liverpool on Thursday evening, extending their lead at the top of the table to six points.
The overwhelming mood following that one? Disappointment. Frustration. It was one of the Gunners’ bluntest and most ineffective attacking displays of the term, and between them, the two sides failed to muster even one goal’s worth of xG.
Expected Goals (xG) is a metric designed to measure the probability of a shot resulting in a goal.
But it’s hard to be overly critical. After all, Arsenal stepped onto the Emirates grass riding a five-match winning run in the Premier League, thus catapulting them into the ascendancy after a tough winter spell that had tripped many rivals at their heels.
But closest rivals Manchester City have just unveiled Bournemouth’s Antoine Semenyo as their shiny new January signing, and Mikel Arteta wants to respond.
Arsenal in talks to sign Prem talent
Ahead of the January window, Arteta said that he and Arsenal technical director Andrea Berta would be “actively looking” for ways to improve the first-team squad.
After all, it’s been 22 years since the Gunners got their mitts on the Premier League title, and in such a strong position at the midpoint, they can ill afford to let this one pass them by.
Arsenal could do with some added firepower in attack. Viktor Gyokeres hasn’t hit the ground running since his summer move, and Gabriel Martinelli extended his barren streak for goals and assists to 12 against Liverpool.
Still, this is a top squad, and any improvements may align with the plans to remain at the top for many years. Perhaps that’s why Berta has been calling for Wolves prospect Mateus Mane.
According to TEAMtalk, Arsenal have indeed been in talks to sign the 18-year-old winger this month, but Rob Edwards’ side have no intention to sell.
Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur are among the rival suitors in this battle, but with Martinelli flattering to deceive and Leandro Trossard having turned 31 in December, the Portugal-born winger may see a pathway to the big time in north London.
What Mane would add to Arsenal
Mane has been the talk of the town at Molineux of late. The England U18 international has scored in back-to-back Premier League matches for Wolves, with Edwards lauding the “sensational” gains he has made since stepping up from the academy.
Collecting the ball without breaking speed at the Hill Dickinson underscored Mane’s potential. Here’s a player who has the potential to become a household name for English football-mad families down the line.
Much has been made of the dull and direct atmosphere in the Premier League this season, but forwards like Mane get fans off their seat. It’s like Saka, against Liverpool, zipping this way and that in the first half, beating his man and sending the crowd wild.
The right-footed Mane has shown in such short time that he could emulate that, and if Arteta helps bring him to the fore, he could easily end up taking Martinelli’s place in the senior squad.
The 24-year-old was once called the “talent of the century” by former Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp, but he’s failed to kick on in recent years, unable to keep pace with Arteta’s breakneck pursuit of glory.
|
Gabriel Martinelli’s Premier League Career |
||
|---|---|---|
|
Season |
Apps |
Goals + Assists |
|
25/26 |
16 |
1 + 0 |
|
24/25 |
33 |
8 + 4 |
|
23/24 |
35 |
6 + 4 |
|
22/23 |
36 |
15 + 6 |
|
21/22 |
29 |
6 + 6 |
|
20/21 |
14 |
2 + 1 |
|
19/20 |
14 |
3 + 0 |
|
Data via Transfermarkt |
||
It’s not just that he’s lost his way in front of goal. As per Sofascore, the Brazil international is yet to create a big chance in the Premier League this season, and on average, he’s completing a dribble once every two fixtures.
Mane, so young, is fleet-footed and fearless. He has won five duels in each of his past two Premier League matches, an illustration of a wider technical quality that stretches beyond the composure to finish in the danger area. He’s a “special” player, alright, as has been said by journalist Bence Bocsak.
It’s obviously too early to start claiming Mane would displace Martinelli in Arsenal’s starting line-up, but he’s got all the ingredients to play a part over the coming years, before reaching physical and technical apotheosis under one of the most intelligent and shrewd tacticians in the game.
If Martinelli doesn’t buck up his ideas, he’s going to find his opportunities diminish.
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