Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has an interesting Gabriel Martinelli & Emile Smith Rowe selection decision to make for West Ham clash. (Photo by STEVE BARDENS/AFP via Getty Images)
The winning feeling returned and it didn’t come in the form of a scrappy 1-0 or following 70 minutes of sitting on a lead. Arsenal comfortably saw off Southampton 3-0, in the end, to provide welcome preparation for West Ham.
Mikel Arteta’s hand was forced with the omission of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang from the squad for a disciplinary breach, but it still came as a surprise to see him select the same starting lineup that had lost in miserable fashion away at Everton in the previous outing.
Same team, different performance.
Barring an opening 20 minutes full of sloppiness and nervy moments it was a display full of attacking intent and more sustained spells of pressure, with the woodwork preventing the scoreline from being more comfortable than it was.
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has an interesting Gabriel Martinelli & Emile Smith Rowe selection decision to make for West Ham clash
Southampton’s high pressing approach played into Arsenal’s hands, and once the second goal went in and the minutes ticked on the visitors lost their structure and intensity. They fell apart and Arsenal picked them off.
Looking as limp as a dead fish at Goodison Park, to see greater fluency in the final third without Emile Smith Rowe on the pitch came as a welcome relief. His ability to carry from deep was an absent trait from that loss, and sitting on the bench it felt like a matter of time before he was brought on after those early exchanges.
Gabriel Martinelli stepped up in his stead. Offering a contrasting skillset to the Hale Ender, he was one of the better performers in a game that suited his profile. There was grass to run into, forward-thinking full-backs to contest with and plenty of progression to him with Granit Xhaka operating slightly more advanced.
With Smith Rowe getting additional resting time as Arsenal dive head first into this congested fixture schedule, given the magnitude of the West Ham game on Wednesday it is ideal preparation.
The question is, do you change a winning team and, equally, off the back of his performance is there any reason to rush Martinelli out?
Continued on next page…
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<p>— Gabriel Martinelli (@gabimartinelli) <a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2021/12/13/arsenal-martinelli-smith-rowe-decision/"https://twitter.com/gabimartinelli/status/1469753686243033096?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%22>December 11, 2021</a></p></blockquote>
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<h2>Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has an interesting Gabriel Martinelli & Emile Smith Rowe selection decision to make for West Ham clash</h2>
<p>Southampton’s <a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2021/12/13/arsenal-martinelli-smith-rowe-decision/"https://paininthearsenal.com/2021/12/13/can-arsenal-score-high-press/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">high pressing approach</a> played into Arsenal’s hands, and once the second goal went in and the minutes ticked on the visitors lost their structure and intensity. They fell apart and Arsenal picked them off.</p>
<p>Looking as limp as a dead fish at Goodison Park, to see greater fluency in the final third <a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2021/12/13/arsenal-martinelli-smith-rowe-decision/"https://paininthearsenal.com/2021/12/12/arsenal-4-positives-southampton-win/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">without Emile Smith Rowe on the pitch</a> came as a welcome relief. His ability to carry from deep was an absent trait from that loss, and sitting on the bench it felt like a matter of time before he was brought on after those early exchanges.</p>
<p>Gabriel Martinelli stepped up in his stead. Offering a contrasting skillset to the Hale Ender, he was one of the better performers in a game that suited his profile. There was grass to run into, forward-thinking full-backs to contest with and plenty of progression to him with Granit Xhaka operating slightly more advanced.</p>
<p>With Smith Rowe getting additional resting time as Arsenal dive head first into this congested fixture schedule, given the magnitude of the West Ham game on Wednesday it is ideal preparation.</p>
<p>The question is, do you change a winning team and, equally, off the back of his performance is there any reason to rush Martinelli out?</p>
<p><em>Continued on next page…</em></p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background: #c01f2f" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2021/12/13/arsenal-martinelli-smith-rowe-decision/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> ESR or Gabi vs West Ham? </a>
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<img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="size-large wp-image-119390" src=https://paininthearsenal.com/2021/12/13/arsenal-martinelli-smith-rowe-decision/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_389,w_590/https%3A%2F%2Fpaininthearsenal.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2017%2F07%2F1341934553-850x560.jpeg" alt="Arsenal, ESR" width="590" height="389"><div class="fs-center-img">
<p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:590px;">LONDON, ENGLAND – SEPTEMBER 22: Emile Smith Rowe of Arsenal celebrates after scoring their team’s second goal during the Carabao Cup Third Round match between Arsenal and AFC Wimbledon at Emirates Stadium on September 22, 2021 in London, England. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)</p>
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<h2>Martinelli Deserves West Ham Start – But Smith Rowe Has Goal Threat</h2>
<p>If you’re picking the three players you want to have play behind the striker, regardless of who that is, Smith Rowe, Martin Odegaard and Bukayo Saka are that trio.</p>
<p><a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2021/12/13/arsenal-martinelli-smith-rowe-decision/"https://paininthearsenal.com/2021/12/12/arsenal-summer-signings-steal-show/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Odegaard is in his richest vein of form</a> since joining the club with three goals in his last three outings complementing the sharpness and vision he’s bringing in central areas. No longer sitting deeper as a No. 8 all match, he has the license to drift into his favoured right pocket as well as instigate the counter-press.</p>
<p>Starting to show his class, there is no way he drops out.</p>
<p>Saka was another player to shine against Southampton, and is someone who even on his weaker days is an integral cog in the machine down that right side. It’s the toughest role to play in Arteta’s system as he is so often isolated in the final third. Nobody else can hold that flank like him.</p>
<p>Being so gloriously two-footed adds to his threat and as he picks up some form after an early season wobble the decision on whether he doesn’t play is one that frankly doesn’t exist.</p>
<p>But Smith Rowe is a goal threat. A ball carrier and an intricate mover into space. Him not being in the team when fit is an unheard of scenario. However, given how Martinelli has played in the opportunities he’s had and factoring how much Smith Rowe has played in general this season, the question is whether there is any great rush to bring him back from his groin strain.</p>
<p>A brilliant option to have off the bench, he’s still only 21 years old and this is the point in the season where squad depth is so crucial. Unless Martinelli is feeling fatigued, for the time being it might be wise to let him build on his performances.</p>
<p>On the flip side, this is a huge <a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2021/12/13/arsenal-martinelli-smith-rowe-decision/"https://www.90min.com/leagues/premier-league" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Premier League</a> game. When you’ve got your best players available, surely you play them: Smith Rowe is fit, rested and one of few legitimate goal threats in the team. Arteta will be balancing those arguments in his head, with the addition of the striker situation influencing his selections.</p>
<p>On the basis that Aubameyang doesn’t start and Lacazette does, then the direct running and pace of Martinelli on the left makes for a more symmetrical forward line.</p>
<p>It’s an interesting call to make. Whomever is chosen down that left flank won’t be ‘winning their place’ over the other though – as much as the pre-match lineup meltdowns onlin would suggest – and is instead all part of strategy best designed to win the match and protect the players.</p>
<div class="fs-shortcode" data-type="StoryLink" data-theme="dark" data-text="Is it over for Auba?" data-url="https://paininthearsenal.com/2021/12/13/finished-aubameyang-arsenal-arteta/" data-call-to-action="Next"> <div class="story-link-next"> <a class="story-link-next-btn" style="background: #c01f2f" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="story-link-next-shortcode" href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2021/12/13/arsenal-martinelli-smith-rowe-decision/"https://paininthearsenal.com/2021/12/13/finished-aubameyang-arsenal-arteta/"> <span class="call_to_action">Next:</span> Is it over for Auba? </a> </div>
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<p>Most importantly of all, it’s another one of those headaches with multiple pain killers available.</p><!—pageview_candidate—>">
