‘The manager doesn’t like him’ – Keown speculates on Martinelli’s absence at Arsenal
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Gabriel Martinelli is struggling for regular starts at Arsenal because Mikel Arteta “doesn’t like him”, claims Martin Keown.
The highly-rated Brazilian forward has suffered further injury setbacks this season, with fitness issues stunting his progress in north London.
He has, however, been back in contention for some time and often finds himself filling a spot on the bench as Arteta favours other creative and attacking options.
What has been said?
“I’ve been concerned as to why that player is not playing,” former Arsenal defender Keown told BT Sport.
Asked why Martinelli continues to be overlooked, with the 19-year-old seeing just 27 minutes of action in a 2-1 Europa League semi-final defeat to Villarreal, Keown added: “Because the manager doesn’t like him. It’s as simple as that.
“I’m not there every day, I’m not on the training ground.
“I thought it was very interesting that [Martin] Odegaard had gone internationally and said ‘in training this is the best young player I’ve ever seen’. And he’s from Real Madrid.
“So now it’s time to let him fly. Let’s look at the positives. Let’s support him.
“When he came into the team I thought he did a great job. Not only was he making runs down the middle but he was coming back. He was like a Duracell battery.
“Keep him in the team. Play him. You’ve seen what you’ve done with [Emile] Smith Rowe and [Bukayo] Saka. Support the young players, that’s where the energy is coming from.”
The bigger picture 
Arteta is being urged to tinker with his plans again because consistency remains elusive for Arsenal as a collective.
They face a tough task to reach the Europa League final after coming unstuck on Spanish soil, while a disappointing domestic campaign has them sat 10th in the Premier League.
Keown believes changes have to be made, with the Gunners being urged to move Granit Xhaka out of a makeshift left-back berth and field Saka in a position that is a more natural fit for him.
The ex-Gunners centre-half said, with questions also being asked of Dani Ceballos on the back of his red card against Villarreal: “It’s about the manager creating the strongest fist he can as a team with what’s available.
“Saka was picked to play for England in the November World Cup qualifiers as a left-back. We know he’s in the squad as a forward player but that’s how versatile he is so play him at left-back.
“Then Martinelli can play, [Nicolas] Pepe can play. There’s still plenty of talent but it’s a better XI.
“And I felt when Ceballos went off what was really telling was we didn’t look any worse down to 10 men than we did with 11. That should tell the manager something and he has to learn quickly because we’re running out of time now.
“There has to be a performance in the next game.”
Arsenal will be back in action on Sunday when they take in a trip to Newcastle.
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