Did Arsenal make a huge mistake by selling Emile Smith-Rowe to Fulham?
12/24/2024 07:30 AM
I think this question will probably not divide many Arsenal fans at this time, with Martinelli struggling to do anything meaningful, despite his slightly improved performance yesterday, and Emile Smith Rowe slowly recapturing his past form at Fulham. It begs the question: what did Arteta see in Martinelli that he didn't see in ESR?
Certainly, anyone who has ever watched football will acknowledge that Emile is a far more rounded player, with superior technical ability and passing. You could also argue that he is a better dribbler than Martinelli. Emile even proved a few years back that he is more than capable of contributing goals to this team when cutting in from the left. So could it really be as simple as Arteta lost faith in ESR's ability to stay fit, rather than in his ability to be a part of the team?
Perhaps Gabriel Martinelli's greatest asset right now, much like Ben White (usually), is being available. Other than that and great straight line speed he doesn't appear to offer much else anymore, which is a shame because he too showed great promise that has not really materialised into anything beyond high velocity sprints toward the touchline that usually culminates in an aimless low cross into the box.
I don't think anyone could or should question his effort; he is a willing runner both going forward and going backwards, but it is his tunnel vision when nearing goal that lets him down a bit. It is an attribute that could make him a dangerous striker were he ever to play that position on a regular basis, but as a winger he needs to be able to pick out players in a better position and this is probably why Arteta alternates him with Trossard so often.
I find Trossard an incredibly frustrating player. He has excellent technical ability and puts in a shift whenever he is on the pitch, but has never really convinced me he is of sufficient quality to match the manager's ambitions. I once described him as a Poundland Eden Hazard and I stand by that description. What he brings though is everything Martinelli lacks, and the two of them combined is roughly what we had with Emile Smith Rowe; Great technical ability combined with pace, dribbling, and an eye for goal.
So did Arteta sell the wrong player and should he have allowed ESR more time to learn to trust his body again, because the Emile Smith Rowe of 2021/22 was so good he was arguably better than Bukayo Saka at that time. Trossard is already too old and is as good as he is ever going to get, and I do not believe Martinelli's skill set or top-level ceiling is close to that of Smith Rowe.
Personally, I would have preferred Arteta keep Smith Rowe and allow him to operate down the left wing as he did back when he was good enough to get into the England squad on merit. Sadly, those days appear to be gone and whilst there may be a buy-back option I doubt he would be willing to return to play for a manager who overlooked him after he returned from injury, reducing him to 5 minutes cameos in the wrong position, and then subsequently sold him.
Ben Dungate
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