When Hugo Ekitike was asked earlier this month if he feared for his place after Alexander Isak signing at Liverpool, the Frenchman replied “I’m looking forward to the competition”. Liverpool have an Ekitike that is already delivering, with last season’s second-highest goalscorer in the Premier League on the way after a summer without an optimal pre-season. An excellent situation for coach Slot. At Arsenal, we see something similar.
Viktor Gyökeres, also without pre-season, is up and running in the Arsenal shirt, but still needs more run-in. 54 goals in 52 games last season in the Sporting shirt and 3 goals in 5 Premier League games in the Arsenal shirt speaks to his potential.
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Against Manchester City, there was still no scoring on the Swede, but then substitute Gabriel Martinelli stepped up. Admittedly, from a winger position, but shows he is Mikel Arteta’s finisher when it matters most.
The Brazilian came into the last ten minutes of the game with a 0-1 lead to City after an early Haaland goal. Martinelli did as against Athletic Club earlier in the week, scoring, to make it 1-1!
After the game, the journalists pushed the Brazilian if he was unhappy with his bench life. The answer shows Mikel Arteta has the right players and the right competition in the attacking positions.
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-Of course I don’t want to be on the bench. I want to play 90 minutes in every game, but Arteta knows what he’s doing. He is the coach, and everyone trusts him. We are very happy with him,” Gabriel Martinelli told the BBC after the game.
When this comes from the player with a measly 171 minutes on the pitch spread over 5 games, then Arsenal have the breadth, mentality and loyalty to the coach that is needed to lift the Premier League title.
