It’s been a stressful start to the Premier League season for Arsenal this year.
Mikel Arteta’s side won their first two matches, but a Declan Rice sending-off in their third saw them drop points for the first time in the campaign. Then, club captain Martin Odegaard injured his ankle on international duty and will be out of action for at least three weeks.
However, despite the odds, the Gunners travelled up Seven Sister Road to take on Tottenham Hotspur in the North London Derby and, with their second-string midfield, claimed all three points.
It wasn’t a game of massive quality, but it was an important win, and while the effort was unquestionable to a man, Gabriel Martinelli continued to frustrate in front of goal, which is a part of his game he must work on, especially as there is a promising youngster at Hale End who could well be challenging him in the coming seasons.
Gabriel Martinelli's recent form
Now, the first thing to establish is that at his best, Martinelli is one of the most electric and exciting wingers in the Premier League, as demonstrated by his haul of 15 goals and six assists in 46 games in the 22/23 season.
However, therein lies the problem: he’s not been at his best for some time now.
For example, despite the rest of the team maintaining and even improving on their form last season, the Brazilian took a noticeable step backwards and ended the campaign with a rather underwhelming tally of eight goals and five assists in 44 matches, meaning he went from averaging a goal involvement every 2.19 games to every 3.38 games.
Appearances
46
44
4
Goals
15
8
0
Assists
6
5
0
Goal Involvements per Match
0.45
0.29
0.00
Unfortunately, the Guarulhos-born dynamo has continued this poor form in front of goal into this season. After four league games, totalling 251 minutes, he has failed to score or assist a goal despite having more than a handful of brilliant chances to do so.
The fact that he has had the chances is what makes it so much more frustrating for fans, as he still has the ability to beat opposition defenders and at points against Spurs, looked like a real threat, but as it did last season, his final ball, shot or decision let him down.
There is still a chance the former Ituano gem can rediscover the form that won him so many plaudits a couple of years ago, but if he doesn’t, he could lose his place in the starting lineup, and in a couple of years, he could even lose his place in the squad to a promising youngster in the academy.
Why fans should be excited about Ismeal Kabia
So, the exciting youngster in question is 18-year-old winger Ismeal Kabia, who was one of five Hale End graduates who made the bench for Sunday’s game against Tottenham Hotspur, alongside Ethan Nwaneri, Ayden Heaven, Myles Lewis Skelly and Maldini Kacurri.
The young Dutchman didn’t get on the pitch, but the fact he was even selected for the bench shows that Arteta and the club have a lot of faith in him and hope for what he could become in a few years and, in turn, who he could rival.
Now, while the talented prospect is primarily a right-winger, eight of his 22 starts and 33 appearances have come off the left, and much like how Martinelli was used on the right in the final game last season, there is no reason the youngster couldn’t be used more on the left in the future, which would also allow him to cut inside and use his right foot.
In his 33 appearances for the various youth sides over the last couple of years, the “excellent finisher”, as dubbed by podcaster Will Balsam, has scored four goals and provided four assists. While those aren’t incredible numbers, they are encouraging.
Moreover, perhaps his most significant selling point is his lightning-quick pace, as Balsam described the 18-year-old as a “spark plug” and the “fastest player we’ve seen at Hale End in the last 10 years”, which is saying something and could see him given a chance to play in cup games down the line.
Overall, while Martinelli is an incredible player, he needs to rediscover his goalscoring form, and even though Kabia is still a young, predominantly right-sided player, he’s shown promise off the left and may well become a more common fixture in squads going forward with the ultimate intention of battling the Brazilian for his starting spot down the line.
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