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Arsenal drew at home against Premier League champion Liverpool on Thursday evening, extending their lead at the top of the table to six points.
The overwhelming atmosphere that followed that one? Disappointment. Frustration. It was one of the Gunners’ most brutal and ineffective attacking displays of the term, and between them both teams failed to muster even a single xG goal.
Expected Goals (xG) is a metric designed to measure the likelihood of a shot resulting in a goal.
But it’s hard to be too critical. After all, Arsenal entered the Emirates turf on the back of a five-game winning streak in the Premier League, catapulting them into the ascendancy after a difficult winter spell that had left many rivals stumbling on their heels.
But their closest rival, Manchester City, have just unveiled Bournemouth’s Antoine Semenyo as their bright new signing for January, and Mikel Arteta wants to answer.
Arsenal in talks to sign Prem talent
Ahead of the January window, Arteta said he and Arsenal technical director Andrea Berta would “active search” to find ways to improve the first team.
After all, it’s been 22 years since the Gunners last won the Premier League title, and in such a strong position at the halfway point, they can ill afford to let this one slip away.
Arsenal could benefit from some extra firepower in attack. Viktor Gyokeres has not started since its summer move, and Gabriel Martinelli extended his barren streak of goals and assists to 12 against Liverpool.
This is a top team nonetheless, and any improvement could align with plans to stay at the top for many years to come. Perhaps that’s why Berta called Wolves prospect Mateus Mane.
According to TEAMtalkArsenal are indeed in talks to sign the 18-year-old winger this month, but Rob Edwards’ side have no plans to sell.
Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur are among the rival suitors in this battle, but with Martinelli flattering to deceive and Leandro Trossard having turned 31 in December, the Portuguese-born winger could see his way to the big time in north London.
What Mané would add to Arsenal
Mané has been the talk of Molineux lately. The England U18 international has scored in back-to-back Premier League matches for Wolves, with Edwards praising the “sensational» the gains he has made since leaving the academy.
Getting the ball back without slowing down at Hill Dickinson highlighted Mane’s potential. Here is a player who has the potential to become a household name for football-loving English families.
Much has been made of the dull and straightforward atmosphere of the Premier League this season, but strikers like Mane are getting fans out of their seats. It’s like Saka, against Liverpool, somehow passing in the first half, beating his man and driving the crowd crazy.
Right-footed Mane has shown in such a short space of time that he can emulate that, and if Arteta helps him get noticed, he could easily end up taking Martinelli’s place in the senior team.
The 24-year-old was once nicknamed the “talent of the century” by former Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp, but he has failed to hit the ground running in recent years, unable to keep pace with Arteta’s frantic quest for glory.
|
Gabriel Martinelli’s Premier League career |
||
|---|---|---|
|
Season |
Applications |
Goals + Passes |
|
25/26 |
16 |
1 + 0 |
|
24/25 |
33 |
8 + 4 |
|
23/24 |
35 |
6 + 4 |
|
22/23 |
36 |
15 + 6 |
|
21/22 |
29 |
6 + 6 |
|
20/21 |
14 |
2 + 1 |
|
19/20 |
14 |
3 + 0 |
|
Given Transfer market |
||
It’s not just that he got lost in front of goal. According to Sofascore, the Brazil international is yet to create a big chance in the Premier League this season, and on average he completes a dribble once every two matches.
Mane, so young, is fast and fearless. He has won five duels in each of his last two Premier League matches, an illustration of a wider technical quality that goes beyond composure to finishing in the danger zone. It’s a “special“player, okay, like said journalist Kendin Bocsak.
It’s obviously too early to claim that Mane would replace Martinelli in Arsenal’s starting line-up, but he has all the ingredients to play a role in the years to come, before reaching physical and technical apotheosis under the guidance of one of the game’s smartest and most astute tacticians.
If Martinelli does not confirm his ideas, he will see his opportunities diminish.
