Ian Wright Criticizes Arsenal Over Martinelli's Exclusion

Arsenal’s season began with a swagger on the pitch and a storm off it. A 3-0 win, a statement performance, a clean sheet – and a club legend furious about how one of their own is being treated.

Arsenal cruise, but one name is missing

Bukayo Saka, Kai Havertz and Martin Odegaard delivered exactly what Mikel Arteta would have wanted on Friday night. Three goals, three points, and a comfortable opening to their Premier League title defence against Frank Lampard’s Coventry City at the Emirates.

But while the crowd roared for the new campaign, one absence echoed loudly.

Gabriel Martinelli was nowhere to be seen. Not on the pitch. Not on the bench. Not in the squad at all.

The Brazilian, 25, has entered the final year of his contract and Arsenal are actively looking to move him on before the transfer window closes. His omission against Coventry came just days after he was also left out of the Community Shield squad for the win over Manchester City.

For Ian Wright, it all stinks.

Wright: “It makes me feel uncomfortable”

Speaking on Sky Sports after the Coventry game, Wright did not hold back. The former Arsenal striker, never shy of defending players he feels deserve better, was clearly angered by the way Martinelli’s situation is unfolding.

“In respects to Martinelli and the way Martinelli has been treated at the moment it really makes me feel uncomfortable,” he said.

He pointed to the winger’s commitment and contribution over recent seasons.

“Because he always gives 100 per cent, I’m not saying he’s the greatest, he’s really come up with some big moments for Arsenal, some big games, he’s scored some very important goals… the way he’s been treated at the end here, I know they might want him out, and there’s a lot of people saying, ‘yeah, maybe it’s time for him to move on’, but there’s ways of doing that and it should suit him as well, how he wants to leave.”

The criticism cut deeper as Wright revealed Martinelli, in his view, is being kept in the dark.

“Not being in the squad, not being spoken to, doesn’t know what’s going on, yes, I do know this, again, not being involved in the Community Shield squad, he doesn’t know what’s happening, I think he’s got a year left [on his contract].”

That sense of uncertainty, of a player frozen out before a decision has been agreed, is exactly what Wright believes Arsenal should be above.

Transfer stand-off and a player in limbo

There is interest. Galatasaray tested Arsenal’s resolve last week with a £38 million bid, but Martinelli has made it clear he does not want to move to the Turkish league.

So he waits. Contract running down. Future unclear. Place in the squad apparently gone.

Wright argued that if Arsenal were replacing Martinelli with a truly elite wide forward, the picture would at least be clearer for the Brazilian.

“If you bring Vini [Vinicius Junior] in, that kind of level in, Martinelli can say to himself, ‘well, okay, they’ve brought him and Tzolis, I might be third [choice]’,” Wright said.

The reality, though, is different. Martinelli is looking at the options around him and, in Wright’s eyes, still seeing a fight he believes he can win.

“But if you’re bringing Tzolis in, and he’s looking at Tzolis, you look at Madueke on the other [wing], you’re thinking to yourself, ‘I think I can still have it with these two, I still think I’ve got something to offer here’.”

Instead, he finds himself “nowhere near it”.

“For him to be nowhere near it, it makes me feel sad for him,” Wright admitted.

Respect, reputation and a hard line from Arteta

Arteta has shown before he is willing to take a ruthless stance with players he no longer sees as central to his plans. Big names have gone, strong personalities moved on. It is part of the culture reset that has taken Arsenal from drift to genuine title challengers.

But Wright believes that whatever the manager’s long-term view, Martinelli has earned a better exit route than silence and exclusion.

“I’m just saying I think he’s done enough with this team, with this squad, to be treated with a little bit more respect than he’s being treated at the moment.”

The Emirates crowd left on Friday night talking about a dominant win and a confident start. They may soon be talking about something else: whether one of Arsenal’s most relentless wide forwards of recent years is being pushed out the door, or whether there is still a way back from the cold.