Arsenal hero Ian Wright explains what Gabriel Martinelli got so right against Sheffield United

The former Arsenal striker was full of praise for the Brazilian youngster who scored his second Premier League goal since joining Arsenal in the summer against Sheffield United at the Emirates Stadium

The former Arsenal striker was full of praise for the Brazilian youngster who scored his second Premier League goal since joining Arsenal in the summer against Sheffield United at the Emirates Stadium

(Image: Robin Jones/Getty Images)

Gabriel Martinelli has been praised for filling the boots of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang against Sheffield United by former Arsenal striker Ian Wright.
A red card against Crystal Palace on January 11 saw Mikel Arteta lose his main goalscorer to a three game suspension, the first of which was the visit of the Blades to the Emirates Stadium.

The Brazilian played his role well and scored the only goal of the game for the hosts before a heart-breaking equaliser late on ensured the visitors took home a point. It was a hammer blow to the hosts who had hoped to secure all three points in order to start building some momentum under their new head coach.

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Martinelli had scored right at the death of the first half to send his side down the tunnel ahead at half-time, feeding off the service of Bukayo Saka at left-back.
While the Brazilian had scored for Arsenal prior to facing Sheffield United, including a goal in the Premier League against West Ham on his full league debut, his strike was all the more important due to the absence of Aubameyang.
The Gabon international has put away 14 of the 30 goals scored by Arsenal in the English topflight this season. No other player has yet reached double figures for the club in the current campaign across all competitions.

Alexandre Lacazette is the next highest scorer in the league with five but with two in the Premier League, three in the Europa League and four in the Carabao Cup, Martinelli is now one goal away from bagging 10 for the season.
He is the second only to Aubameyang across all competitions with nine, and Wright was impressed by how he came in to cover for Arsenal's suspended top scorer.

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"He played well," the former striker told Match of the Day. "He's someone that the Arsenal fans are very excited about.
"He is someone that is constantly trying to get in the box, he has great movement.
"When you look at him, he's sharp, always wants to get in the box, makes good darts into the box.
"He gets himself into a position and then look at his movement now and he gets the goal.

"I think he's under a lot of pressure with Aubameyang not being available. Everyone is saying ‘he has to come in', can he fill the boots for the game? I think he did."
However, Wright had praise for other players who performed for City.
"[Martinelli] was full of running, movement, him and Ainsley Maitland-Niles, Saka all played really well, [Shkodran] Mustafi has to get a mention too.
"It's still a work in progress but I'm delighted for him today."