Winger Gabriel Martinelli should not start another game if Arteta wants to win the title

Mikel Arteta’s team failed to score against relegation-threatened Wolverhampton Wanderers until an own goal by Sam Johnstone in the 70th minute. Despite the victory, centre-forward Viktor Gyokeres had a rough night and failed to get anything to stick; yet, the Swede’s partner needs to be let go.

Like the title-chasing teams usually do, Arsenal, one of the biggest teams to never win the Champions League, pushed and probed for a goal, but there weren’t many instances in the first half that really bothered Wolves.

A disaster that summed up Wolves’ season: the home team took the lead after a tempting corner from the legendary Bukayo Saka struck the inside of the post and rebounded off Johnstone’s back into the back of the net.

The north Londoners rallied four minutes later to win 2-1, despite Wolves’ equaliser in the ninetieth minute. There were subpar performances all over the pitch, and Arsenal will finish in second place for the fourth consecutive year if Mikel Arteta keeps starting a certain player in addition to Viktor Gyokeres.

Arteta will lose the title if Arsenal’s flop isn’t dropped

Arteta has made some personnel decisions based on who is and isn’t healthy this season, but he still needs to avoid starting Gabriel Martinelli, at least in the Premier League, if he wants to make sure Arsenal finishes first. That’s not to say the Brazilian international can’t contribute to the North Londoners’ cause, though, before the pitchforks and torches come out.

But it’s becoming more and more obvious that the former Ituano gem is less productive when he starts games than when he comes off the bench. In summary, Saka on the right-hand side provoked both of Wolves’ own goals, while the quick winger’s play was excruciatingly unproductive.

Now, even if it’s obvious that the occasionally clunky and indecisive winger—as podcaster Phil Costa put it—should no longer start games, he may still be a very helpful substitute. This season has really demonstrated this, as he has scored three of his six goals and provided one assist in games when he came off the bench and took advantage of a weary opponent.