Arteta plays down talk of 'savior' Gabriel Martinelli

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has urged the club’s fans not to expect ‘much’ from Gabriel Martinelli who just returned from injury.

Mikel Arteta has warned Arsenal fans to tone it down with pressure on Gabriel Martinelli as the youngster returns from injury.

The 19-year-old perhaps chose to return to full fitness at the ‘right’ time. The Gunners are lacking goals at the moment and have only managed a lowly 12 goals from 14 league games all season.

A good part of Arsenal’s problems lie on their faltering attack and it only got worse for the Gunners after captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang recently suffered a calf injury.

Arsenal have announced Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang will mist Tuesday's tie with Man City and is being assessed ahead of the weekend, while Gabriel returns from suspension. pic.twitter.com/VvUe6ibPQ8
— AFTV (@AFTVMedia) December 21, 2020

Step in Martinelli. The Brazilian forward returned from a nine-month absence caused by a knee injury to play 19 minutes off the bench against Everton.

The 19-year-old hit 10 goals in his first season at the Emirates Stadium before being ruled out since March. Many of the Gunners faithful have now called on Arteta to immediately integrate the youngster into Arsenal’s starting XI.

But Arteta has urged caution with Martinelli who will still need time to hit full gear after a long-term layoff.

“We cannot put that pressure on his shoulders,” he said as quoted by Evening Standard.

“It’s not fair for him. He brings that enthusiasm that the fans can see because he’s got something special, a special energy every time he steps on that field.

Arteta continued on Martinelli: “But remember that Gabi, what he’s done in the Premier League, the time that he’s been with us is very limited. Let him develop, like we are doing with many other young kids that we have here.

“It’s the same with many other young players that are probably taking more responsibility than perhaps they should do at this moment.”

“It’s the squad that we have at the moment and what we have to manage. They have to try to do their best but I don’t think it’s fair to put all the pressure on them now as well.”