After Arsenal’s victory over Wolves, Ian Wright criticized Gabriel Martinelli, claiming that his “desperation to do well” came at the price of the team.
The new Premier League season got off to a strong start for Mikel Arteta‘s team, who won 2-0 due to goals from Kai Havertz and Bukayo Saka.
Arsenal hopes to surpass Manchester City’s reign and win the trophy for the first time since 2004 after two consecutive second-place finishes in the Premier League.
Wright was frustrated that his previous team was not ahead by two goals at the half, even if the Gunners were leading at the break. This was especially true when Arsenal missed a chance shortly before the break.
Martinelli got in behind the Wolves defence but chose to shoot from a narrow angle instead of laying it off to Declan Rice who had pushed forward and found room in the box.
Wright was critical of Martinelli’s decision-making and believes he was ‘desperate’ to score due to his ‘poor season’ last year and the competition he faces from Leandro Trossard.
‘This one here is a bit disappointing for me because he [Martinelli] has got the opportunity to cut back to Declan Rice,’ Wright said on Premier League Productions.
‘Just lay that into Declan, go 2-0 up and go in at half-time. I know that he’s desperate to do well because he has got Trossard on the bench. He had a poor season last year, Martinelli.
‘But he’s trying to impress upon the manager, but give that back to Declan Rice, 2-0, and then you probably get your goal in the second half.’
While Arsenal were not at their scintillating best against Wolves, Arteta was pleased with his team’s performance, describing it as a ‘job well done’.
‘In the first game there’s always that uncertainty about how you’re going to react, especially against a difficult opponent,’ Arteta said.
‘We scored two, kept a clean sheet. Job done, score two, clean sheet, win. Win in any context. You’ll have better days, or worse days.
‘The opposition will guide you to play in a specific type of way. Today we won in a convincing way, but probably in a different way because it’s what the game requires.’
Asked about Arsenal’s title aspirations, Arteta added: ‘What I’ve seen is the willingness.
‘Whether we’re gonna do it [win the title] or not, we’ll have to show it every day in how we play and the results that we take away.’
Arsenal return to action next Saturday against Aston Villa, who finished fourth in the Premier League last season and opened their 2024-25 campaign with a 2-1 win over West Ham.