Arteta must drop Martinelli after dismal performance

Arsenal failed to return to winning ways in the Premier League as they played out a 2-2 draw against Liverpool on Sunday evening.

The Gunners were without several key players including Martin Odegaard, William Saliba and Riccardo Calafiori.

Gabriel Magalhaes and Jurrien Timber also sustained injuries during the second half, but Arsenal will still be disappointed with the result.

They were 2-1 ahead until the 81st minute when a defensive mishap allowed Mohamed Salah to bag a crucial equaliser for the Reds.

Looking at the positives, Bukayo Saka made a perfect return from injury by scoring an early goal.

Thomas Partey was brilliant at right-back, while midfield duo Declan Rice and Mikel Merino also fared well.

However, Gabriel Martinelli let down the Gunners.

The Brazil international had the better of Trent Alexander-Arnold on a few occasions, but he was poor with his end product and crossing.

The 23-year-old had one big moment in the box where a penalty could have been given on another day.

Martinelli registered 14 passes with a passing accuracy of 61 percent. He lost possession on 18 occasions and completed just one out of four crosses.

The performance was particularly poor compared to Martinelli’s high standards. A spell on the bench could be on the cards.

Raheem Sterling has been decent when he played for the Gunners and he could get the nod on the left wing in midweek.

Arsenal visit Preston North End for the Carabao Cup fourth-round tie on Wednesday evening.

A good showing from Sterling could encourage manager Mikel Arteta to play him more. Martinelli can’t take his place for granted.

Stats from Transfermarkt.com & Sofascore.com.