Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has expressed his thoughts on how Gabriel Martinelli has performed as a right-winger so far in the absence of Bukayo Saka.

Saka’s injury he suffered last weekend at Crystal Palace has turned out to be a severe blow, with the England international set to miss more than two months of action as the squad deals with a busy run of fixtures.

The absence of Arsenal’s star forward has seen Gabriel Martinelli shift over to the right-winger role for the time being, as Arteta continues to weigh his options on who can fill the void left by Saka.

Martinelli did not seem to get much joy on the right on Friday, as the Gunners secured a 1-0 win over Ipswich Town at home.

And speaking after that narrow victory at the Emirates stadium, Mikel Arteta admitted there is room for improvement if the Brazilian is to continue his role as Saka’s replacement.

“Gabby needs people around him. He needs constant threat.” Arteta said

“He needs to be always in the last line when the ball is on his side, that he has relationships there, and people close to him because he’s very intuitive. ”

Arteta added that Martinelli may ‘suffer’ as a right-winger if the current playing style does not ‘evolve and improve’.

“He’s always a threat. I think that if you’re isolating too much, you’re going to suffer, especially playing with a natural foot on the right and that’s things that we can evolve and improve.” the Arsenal boss added

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