‘He’ll be flying!’ – Mikel Arteta backs Arsenal star to hit form after poor start

Darren Bent has backed Arsenal forward Gabriel Martinelli to be ‘flying’ by Christmas after the Brazillian’s sluggish start to the season.

Martinelli has been a key part of the progress Arsenal have made under manager Mikel Arteta, in particular enjoying a stellar 2022/23 campaign during which he scored 15 Premier League goals.

However, the Brazillian has endured a downturn in form over the last 12 months and faces a battle to remain a regular fixture in the starting XI given the form of Leandro Trossard and the deadline-day signing of Raheem Sterling.

Despite those pressures, the 23-year-old issued a timely reminder of his quality before the international break, with his first goals of the season in back-to-back league games against Leicester City and Southampton.

Martinelli made a cameo appearance off the bench for Brazil against Chile on Friday but will be pushing for a starting berth when Arsenal travel to face Bournemouth next weekend.

And former Tottenham striker Bent has backed Martinelli to demonstrate his star quality after two confidence-boosting displays before the international break.

‘That’s the biggest thing – confidence – in any football,’ Bent said on talkSPORT. ‘It doesn’t matter where you play, what level you play, if you haven’t got the confidence, then your performances are going to drop.

‘And when he hit 15 [goals in 2022/23], he was magnificent. But can you back it up again? Because to go two seasons with those amount of goals and those amount of assists is difficult to do.

‘He is working his way back, but you can see the confidence now slowly starting to come back. I believe by Christmas time, he will be absolutely flying.

‘His confidence will be flying, the numbers will be there, and it will be the Martinelli of old.’

Speaking after Arsenal’s 3-1 win against Southampton, Martinelli said he understood that competition for places meant he may not always start but admitted he does not want to become an impact player off the bench.

‘Yeah I mean we have to understand the rotation,’ he told football.london. ‘Really happy for [Raheem] Sterling who played there today. I was ready to come as well and really happy with the goal.

‘No one wants to be on the bench. I want to play, I don’t mind being on the bench but I’m happy to help the team and be there for the boys as well.’