Ian Wright: Arsenal Must Show Martinelli More Respect

Ian Wright has accused Arsenal of mishandling Gabriel Martinelli as the winger edges towards the Emirates exit door, insisting the Brazilian deserves “more respect” after playing a key role in last season’s title triumph.

Martinelli featured 53 times in all competitions in 2023-24, scoring 11 goals as Mikel Arteta’s side finally got over the line in the Premier League. He was a regular, a symbol of Arsenal’s aggressive, front-foot football.

Now he cannot even get on the pitch.

The 25-year-old was left out of the squad entirely for Friday’s league opener, a 3-0 win over Coventry, having also been omitted from the Community Shield victory against Manchester City. Arsenal have invited offers for the forward, and the silence around his future has set alarm bells ringing for one of the club’s most iconic strikers.

“The way Martinelli is being treated at the moment, it really makes me feel uncomfortable,” Wright told Sky Sports. “I know they might want him out, and a lot of people might say, ‘yeah, it’s time for him to move him on’. But there’s ways of doing that and it should suit him as well, how he wants to leave.

“Not being involved in the squad, not being spoken to, he doesn’t know what’s going on. And yes, I know this – he doesn’t know what is happening.

“He’s done enough with this squad to be treated with a little bit more respect than he’s being treated with at the moment.”

From core piece to expendable asset

Martinelli arrived from Brazilian side Ituano in 2019 as a raw but fearless attacker and has been part of the first-team picture throughout Arteta’s reign. His energy, pressing and eye for goal made him a fan favourite and a key part of Arsenal’s evolution from nearly-men to champions.

Now, as the club looks to build on that title and sharpen the squad for another tilt at major honours, he appears to be one of the first big names pushed towards the door.

Inside the club, the message is different. Arsenal deny he is being frozen out and point instead to the depth they have built in wide areas. New signing Christos Tzolis impressed on the left wing against Coventry, operating in Martinelli’s preferred role and staking an immediate claim.

Arsenal also tried to raise the ceiling even further. They moved for Vinicius Jr, another left-sided forward, before the Brazil star committed his future to Real Madrid with a new contract.

For Wright, that context matters. Competition is one thing. Total exclusion is another.

“If you bring Vini in, Martinelli can say to himself, ‘OK, they’ve brought him in, they’ve brought Tzolis in, I might be third [in the pecking order],” Wright said.

“But if you bring Tzolis in and have [Noni] Madueke on the other side, you’re thinking to yourself, ‘I can still have it with these two, I’ve got something to offer’.

“For him to be nowhere near it, it just makes me feel a bit sad for him.”

A sale that funds the next step

Behind the emotion sits a hard reality. Arsenal want at least one significant sale before the transfer window closes and have made it clear Martinelli is available. Internally, he is viewed as one of their most valuable assets in the market, alongside striker Gabriel Jesus and midfielder Fabio Vieira.

Martinelli has already rejected a move to Galatasaray. If he does leave, he is expected to push for a top European club rather than a step down from the elite level he has reached at Arsenal.

Arteta, speaking before the Coventry game, did not name names but did not shy away from the possibility that established figures could be moved on.

“It’s a really tough moment, but you need to face that reality,” he said when asked about big departures. “You need to face it with real honesty and transparency because when you are on the other side, that’s exactly what you need.

“You might not like what you’ve been told, but if it’s truthful, if it’s the reality, if it’s honest and it’s going to help you to make better decisions and have more clarity for the next steps in your career, you have to do that.

“Everything has a start and has an end. And when it comes to the end, our duty, and our responsibility is to do it in the best possible way, maintaining the respect and admiration for the player and the relationship, but understanding that at the end, we need to make football decisions.”

Respect, reality and a ticking clock

That is the tension now hanging over Martinelli’s future. The manager talks about clarity and respect. A club legend sees a player who “doesn’t know what is happening” and feels cast aside.

With the window ticking down and Arsenal intent on staying at the very top, the question is no longer whether Gabriel Martinelli is good enough for a title-winning squad. It is whether his Arsenal story ends with the dignity his contribution deserves.