‘When he was playing with Eddie’: Pundit says one Arsenal player looks so much worse when Nketiah is playing
Speaking on the Highbury Squad YouTube channel, Kevin Campbell has been discussing Gabriel Martinelli and his performances in recent weeks.
Martinelli has been one of Arsenal’s best players as of late, he’s been amongst the goals and has been causing defences all sorts of problems.
The Brazilian has certainly rediscovered his best form, and according to Campbell, it’s no coincidence that Martinelli has returned to prominence now that Eddie Nketiah is out of the team.
Indeed, Campbell says that Martinelli isn’t as good when Nketiah plays, claiming that his natural instincts are curved in order to make way for Nketiah’s poaching style.
Martinelli not as good with Nketiah
Campbell spoke about the winger.
“I do (think he’s playing better with Trossard). I think when Martinelli was playing with Eddie he had to curve his natural insticts. His natural instinct is to go inside. When he goes inside, Eddie doesn’t have the game to go outside to get the movement going. Jesus does and Trossard does, so Martinelli had to stick to the left side, which is easier as a full-back,” Campbell said.
“Eddie just doesn’t have that type of game. Sometimes I think Martinelli had to sacrifice himself a little bit when he was playing with Eddie to help Eddie get the goals and stay on that left side. It didn’t quite work out for him and he got dropped.”
Clash of styles
Sadly, Campbell is right, Martinelli doesn’t perform as well when Nketiah is on the pitch.
Martinelli is at his best when he’s playing in a fluid front three where interchanging positions is the norm and there’s an element of freedom when you get the ball.
However, when Nketiah is on the pitch, Arsenal aren’t as fluid. They have a clear focal point in their attack and everyone has to adapt their game around that.
Sadly, Martinelli doesn’t suit a style where he partners a traditional number nine like Nketiah, but, luckily, Arsenal don’t usually look to play in this way most weeks.
