Arsenal fans are all saying the same thing about Gabriel Martinelli after Jurrien Timber returned to action with the U21s on Monday.
The Dutchman has had a torrid debut season at the Emirates Stadium.
Arsenal signed Timber from Ajax last summer, and even though the arrivals of Declan Rice and Kai Havertz made more noise, everyone knew how important the defender was going to be.
However, Timber suffered a serious knee injury on his Premier League debut against Nottingham Forest on the opening day of the season, and he hasn’t played a senior game since.
Jurrien Timber stars for Arsenal U21s in his comeback game
Jurrien Timber made his long-awaited comeback by starting for the Arsenal U21s in a game against Blackburn Rovers on Monday night.
The Dutchman, who can play across the backline and also in midfield, began the game at left-back at Ewood Park, and you could instantly tell just how good a player he is.
Timber started the game well and after just nine minutes, he scored a stunner.
It really was a wonderful moment for the 22-year-old defender, and every Arsenal fan is delighted for him after what has been a long and hard road back.
Timber was withdrawn after 45 minutes, and he claimed after the game that it was amazing to be back.
Arsenal U21s boss Mehmet Ali was really impressed with Timber’s performance. He raved about him after the game on Monday night.
“He scored a very good goal showing tremendous ability to execute that finish,” he said.
“His decision-making and his whole performance for 45 minutes was very strong and the players will learn a lot through watching him.”
Arsenal fans in complete agreement about Gabriel Martinelli after watching Timber play
Arsenal have mostly had an excellent season and most of our players have done really well. There are, however, a few who have failed to reach the level of last season, like Gabriel Martinelli.
The Brazilian was on fire last term, scoring 15 goals and providing five assists in 34 starts.
This season, Martinelli has managed just six goals in the Premier League for Arsenal, and the likes of Gabriel Jesus and Leandro Trossard have been preferred over him in recent weeks.
Many Arsenal fans feel Martinelli doesn’t get the kind of support on the left side that Bukayo Saka does on the opposite flank.
That is definitely true as neither Oleksandr Zinchenko nor Jakub Kiwior are capable of doing what Ben White does to help Saka on the right wing.
To make things worse for Martinelli, he hasn’t had the required support from our left-sided number eight this season either – Granit Xhaka did a wonderful job last term.
After watching Jurrien Timber back in action, Arsenal fans are all convinced about one thing – Martinelli will explode if the Dutchman starts behind him at left-back.