Ian Wright Critiques Arsenal's Treatment of Martinelli

Arsenal’s title defence began with a comfortable win. The noise around it was anything but.

Bukayo Saka, Kai Havertz and Martin Odegaard got the goals in a 3-0 cruise against Frank Lampard’s Coventry City at the Emirates on Friday night, a statement opening to the new Premier League season. Yet one name on the team sheet – or rather, missing from it – dominated the post-match debate.

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

Wright: “It makes me feel uncomfortable”

The Brazilian’s absence is no longer a one-off. The 25-year-old, who has just a year left on his contract, was also left out of Mikel Arteta’s squad for the Community Shield win over Manchester City last Sunday, a clear pattern at the start of a crucial season.

Arsenal are actively looking to sell the winger before the end of the summer transfer window. Galatasaray tested that stance last week with a £38 million bid, but Martinelli has told the club he does not want to move to the Turkish league.

From the outside, it looks like a clean break in progress. For Ian Wright, it looks like a mess.

“In respects to Martinelli and the way Martinelli has been treated at the moment it really makes me feel uncomfortable,” Wright told Sky Sports after the Coventry game, his tone cutting through the post-match glow.

He pointed to a player who, in his eyes, has banked credit.

“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.”

“Not being spoken to, doesn’t know what’s going on”

The result against Coventry never looked in doubt. The questions around Martinelli’s future grow sharper with every game he misses.

Wright claims the winger is being left 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],” Wright said.

For a player who has fought his way into big occasions and delivered in them, the sudden exile jars with the former striker.

He framed it through the lens of competition and hierarchy. If Arsenal were replacing Martinelli with an undisputed superstar, he argued, the picture would at least be clear.

“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]’, 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’.”

That, for Wright, is the crux: Martinelli can still see a place for himself. The club’s actions suggest otherwise.

Respect, exits and a brutal business

“For him to be nowhere near it, it makes me feel sad for him,” Wright admitted, the emotion evident in his assessment.

“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.”

Arsenal’s stance is clear: with one year left on his deal and a market for him, this is the time to cash in. Martinelli’s stance is just as clear: he does not want Turkey, and he still believes he can compete.

Between those two positions sits a player currently shut out of matchday squads while his teammates launch another title charge.

The goals are flowing without him. The question now is how long Arsenal are prepared to leave a proven contributor in limbo – and how that stand-off ends.