Against Brentford, Smith Rowe reclaimed his place in the Arsenal starting line-up, replacing Martinelli. The Brazilian was serving a one-match suspension after being shown a red card in the home against Wolves on February 10.
The midfielder grabbed the opportunity with both hands, slotting in the opener after some tidy work of individual brilliance. Prior to this, the ‘Croydon De Bruyne’ had seen Martinelli’s purple patch relegate him to cameo appearances off the bench. Speaking to Football Insider, Campbell said:
He added:
However, Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta might not have to choose one young star over the other, with Martinelli being able to play as a striker. In a recent interview with the Athletic, the Brazilian spoke about how he likes playing alongside Smith Rowe and Bukayo Saka. He said:
Arsenal’s young guns are leading the way
Since Mikel Arteta took over as coach, he has overseen a massive overhaul of the squad. The Spaniard has gotten rid of the aging and disgruntled players who didn’t make the cut at Arsenal.
The likes of Mesut Ozil, Shokran Mustafi, Sead Kolasinac, Willian, and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang have so far been casualties of the shake-up to pave the way for young and hungry replacements.
At an average age of 24 years, the Gunners have the youngest squad in the Premier League this season.
Their top scorer in the EPL is Smith Rowe with nine goals followed by Bukayo Saka on seven. Martinelli and Martin Odegaard are tied at four goals each. Meanwhile, the rear guard of Ramsdale, Tomiyasu, Ben White, Gabriel Magalhaes and Kieran Tierney has largely impressed this season.
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