"He is very good": Mikel Arteta blown away by £6m Arsenal star, he could start vs Chelsea

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta heaped praise on Gabriel Martinelli following his hat-trick against Portsmouth in the FA Cup third round on Sunday.

The Gunners made the worst possible start at Fratton Park, conceding after just three minutes.

However, there was a quick response with an Arsenal corner contributing to an eighth-minute own goal.

Martinelli’s headed goal made it 2-1 in the Gunners’ favour at the break, but the margin could have easily been wider with the chances created.

Martinelli was guilty of squandering two clear-cut scoring opportunities, while Noni Madueke missed his penalty. Despite this, Arsenal managed to see out a comfortable win.

The Gunners made it 3-1 through Martinelli’s second goal of the day. He bagged his hat-trick with another glancing header from a corner soon after.

Speaking after the game, Arteta hailed the attitude of Martinelli, who provided a good response on the back of a controversial incident involving Liverpool’s Conor Bradley.

The Spanish tactician added that the 24-year-old attacker is ‘very good’ from set-piece situations and has the knack of timing his runs in the box.

He told Arsenal.com: “I love it, because of every context that you throw him in. Sometimes he doesn’t play, sometimes he performs well or not well the next one.

“Today he scored three goals, tomorrow he’s going to train a hundred miles an hour. He’s not going to change that – and that’s Gabi.”

On whether he thought Martinelli could score headers from set-pieces, he added:

“I do, because he is very good. His timing in the box is really good, especially when in certain spaces, and yesterday he was talking about it.”

Martinelli could start against Chelsea after maiden hat-trick

The Gunners were obviously expected to beat Pompey on the road. Despite trailing early on, it was anticipated that Arsenal would still cruise to a comfortable win.

Arteta’s side were not at their clinical best from open-play situations at Fratton Park yesterday, barring one brilliant cross from Gabriel Jesus for Martinelli’s second goal.

Arsenal showed their quality from set-pieces to make the difference. It was relishing to watch Martinelli score with a couple of headers. The hosts failed to track his run.

Arteta is known for rewarding strong performances. Earlier this season, Mikel Merino’s hat-trick for Spain against Turkey contributed to him starting versus Nottingham Forest.

Hence, it won’t come as a surprise if Martinelli starts ahead of Leandro Trossard on the left wing during the first leg of the Carabao Cup semi-final against Chelsea on Wednesday.

Martinelli, who was signed for just £6 million from Ituano seven years ago, has scored a couple of times at Stamford Bridge in his career, including a sublime solo goal back in 2020.

With Moises Caicedo suspended, right-back Reece James is most likely to operate in midfield. Martinelli could come up against either Malo Gusto or Josh Acheampong in midweek.

Stats from Transfermarkt.com

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