Ian Wright Critiques Arsenal's Treatment of Martinelli After Victory
Arsenal’s title defence began with a swagger and a storm cloud.
On the pitch, it was all clean lines and control. Bukayo Saka, Kai Havertz and Martin Odegaard struck to deliver a 3-0 victory over Frank Lampard’s Coventry City at the Emirates, a statement start to the new Premier League season.
Off it, one name dominated the post-match conversation: Gabriel Martinelli. And Ian Wright did not like what he was seeing.
A 3-0 win – and one glaring omission
As Arsenal eased past Coventry, Martinelli was nowhere to be seen. Not on the pitch. Not on the bench. Not even in the squad.
The Brazilian, 25, has just a year left on his contract and Arsenal are actively looking to sell before the transfer window closes. He had already been left out of Mikel Arteta’s squad for the Community Shield win over Manchester City last Sunday. Two big games. Two total omissions.
Galatasaray tested Arsenal’s resolve last week with a £38 million bid. Martinelli, though, has made it clear he does not want to move to the Turkish league. That stand-off has now spilled into public view.
Wright: “It makes me feel uncomfortable”
Speaking on Sky Sports after the win over Coventry, Wright turned the spotlight firmly on Arsenal’s handling of the situation.
“In respects to Martinelli and the way Martinelli has been treated at the moment it really makes me feel uncomfortable,” he said.
Wright pointed to the winger’s body of work at the club – the energy, the goals, the big moments – and argued that whatever Arsenal’s plans, the player deserves better than silence and exclusion.
“Because he always gives 100 per cent, I’m not saying he’s the greatest, he’s really come up with some big moments for Arsenal, some big games, he’s scored some very important goals… the way he’s been treated at the end here, I know they might want him out, and there’s a lot of people saying, ‘yeah, maybe it’s time for him to move on’, but there’s ways of doing that and it should suit him as well, how he wants to leave.”
That was the heart of Wright’s anger: not the decision to consider a sale, but the way the club are going about it.
“Not being in the squad, not being spoken to”
Wright went further, claiming Martinelli has been left in the dark over his future and is unsure where he stands with Arteta.
“Not being in the squad, not being spoken to, doesn’t know what’s going on, yes, I do know this, again, not being involved in the Community Shield squad, he doesn’t know what’s happening, I think he’s got a year left [on his contract],” Wright said.
For a player who has fought his way into big Arsenal moments, that lack of communication struck Wright as a betrayal of sorts.
The former striker painted a picture from Martinelli’s perspective. Competition is part of elite football. Being written out of the story without a conversation is something else entirely.
The transfer jigsaw and the winger’s place
Wright framed it through hypothetical arrivals. If Arsenal were to sign someone of Vinicius Junior’s stature, he argued, Martinelli could at least rationalise a reduced role.
“If you bring Vini [Vinicius Junior] in, that kind of level in, Martinelli can say to himself, ‘well, okay, they’ve brought him and Tzolis, I might be third [choice]’,” Wright said.
The comparison then shifted to the level of players actually being linked.
“But if you’re bringing Tzolis in, and he’s looking at Tzolis, you look at Madueke on the other [wing], you’re thinking to yourself, ‘I think I can still have it with these two, I still think I’ve got something to offer here’.”
In other words: being edged out by a global superstar is one thing. Being frozen out while players of similar or lesser standing are considered? That stings.
“It makes me feel sad for him”
For Wright, the emotional core of the issue is simple. Martinelli has, in his view, earned the right to be treated with clarity and respect.
“For him to be nowhere near it, it makes me feel sad for him,” he said.
“I’m just saying I think he’s done enough with this team, with this squad, to be treated with a little bit more respect than he’s being treated at the moment.”
Arsenal’s night ended with three goals, three points and a comfortable opening to their title defence. Yet the way they resolve the Martinelli saga – sell, renew, or reintegrate – could say just as much about the club’s direction as any early-season scoreline.
