Paul Merson has stated that Brazilian forward Gabriel Martinelli isn’t the right man to replace Gabriel Jesus up front for Arsenal.
All eyes are on Mikel Arteta on Monday as the Gunners prepare for a Boxing Day clash at home to West Ham United.
Problem is, Arsenal are without their talisman and arguably best player this season.
Jesus picked up a knee injury during Brazil’s World Cup campaign and Eddie Nketiah is the only other number nine in Arteta’s squad right now.
But with the 23-year-old having failed to score from 12 Premier League appearances this season, questions have been raised over whether Nketiah is good enough to sustain the Gunners’ Premier League title charge.
In midweek, Arteta revealed that Martinelli – a £6 million signing in 2019 [GOAL] – is a candidate to fill the void left by his fellow Brazilian attacker.
However, Martinelli has spent virtually his entire Arsenal career on the left-hand side of attack.
And Merson, writing in The Daily Star, does not believe that the 21-year-old is the correct player to spearhead the North Londoners’ attack between now and Jesus’s return.
He said: “I don’t really see Gabriel Martinelli being a solution through the middle, he’s not a proven centre-forward.”
