Ian Wright Criticizes Arsenal for Disrespecting Martinelli
Arsenal opened their Premier League title defence with a comfortable 3-0 win over Coventry City on Friday night – but the talking point for Ian Wright wasn’t the scoreline. It was the absence of Gabriel Martinelli.
Bukayo Saka, Kai Havertz and Martin Odegaard all found the net at the Emirates Stadium as Mikel Arteta’s side eased past Frank Lampard’s newly promoted team. The performance was slick, the atmosphere buoyant. Yet one name was missing from the teamsheet, and not by accident.
Martinelli, 25, was left out of the squad entirely, the latest sign that Arsenal are ready to cash in on the Brazilian before the transfer window closes. He has just a year remaining on his contract and was also omitted from the Community Shield squad that beat Manchester City last Sunday.
For Wright, that treatment crosses a line.
Wright: ‘It makes me feel uncomfortable’
Speaking on Sky Sports after the Coventry win, the former Arsenal striker did not hide his frustration at how the club are handling Martinelli’s situation.
“In respects to Martinelli and the way Martinelli has been treated at the moment it really makes me feel uncomfortable,” Wright said.
He pointed to the winger’s commitment and big-game contributions as reasons the current approach feels harsh.
“Because he always gives 100 per cent, I’m not saying he’s the greatest, he’s really come up with some big moments for Arsenal, some big games, he’s scored some very important goals… the way he’s been treated at the end here, I know they might want him out, and there’s a lot of people saying, ‘yeah, maybe it’s time for him to move on’, but there’s ways of doing that and it should suit him as well, how he wants to leave.”
That, for Wright, is the crux. Not that Arsenal might decide to move on from Martinelli. But how they are doing it.
Transfer stand-off and silence
The winger has already been at the centre of one major bid this summer. Galatasaray tested Arsenal’s resolve with a £38 million offer last week, but Martinelli has made it clear he does not want to move to the Turkish league.
So he waits. And, according to Wright, he waits without clarity.
“Not being in the squad, not being spoken to, doesn’t know what’s going on, yes, I do know this, again, not being involved in the Community Shield squad, he doesn’t know what’s happening, I think he’s got a year left [on his contract],” Wright said.
For a player who has fought his way into big moments at the Emirates, that lack of communication feels, to Wright, like a betrayal of what Martinelli has given the club.
‘He’s done enough to be treated with more respect’
Wright went deeper into the competitive picture on the wings, arguing that even with new signings, Martinelli should not be frozen out in this way.
“If you bring Vini [Vinicius Junior] in, that kind of level in, Martinelli can say to himself, ‘well, okay, they’ve brought him and Tzolis, I might be third [choice]’, but if you’re bringing Tzolis in, and he’s looking at Tzolis, you look at Madueke on the other [wing], you’re thinking to yourself, ‘I think I can still have it with these two, I still think I’ve got something to offer here’,” Wright argued.
The message is clear: competition is normal. Exile is not.
“For him to be nowhere near it, it makes me feel sad for him,” Wright added. “I’m just saying I think he’s done enough with this team, with this squad, to be treated with a little bit more respect than he’s being treated at the moment.”
Arsenal’s season has started with three goals, three points and a statement of intent on the pitch. Off it, the Martinelli saga now hangs over the club.
Does this end with a late-window sale, a sudden reconciliation, or a key player walking away feeling shut out by the club he helped drag back into contention?
