“Feels like he’s gone backwards a little bit” - Paul Scholes delivers verdict on Arsenal star who has ‘stalled’ in making progress

Manchester United legend Paul Scholes has voiced his thoughts on Arsenal's Gabriel Martinelli. Comparing him to his teammates Bukayo Saka and Martin Odegaard, Scholes suggested that his development had slowed.

Speaking on The Overlap, Jamie Carragher initially said:

“I look at Martinelli and actually think probably three years ago when this team was just getting built, it felt like Odegaard, Saka and Martinelli were all at the same sort of level, looked like they could go on and be top players."

“I think the other two have, I’m not sure about Martinelli.”

To this, Scholes added:

“Yeah, it feels like he’s gone backwards a little bit."

“You thought a year, 18 months ago, ‘wow, what a player’, and he has stalled a little bit."

After a breakout 2022-23 campaign for Arsenal where he collected 15 goals and five assists in 36 league games, Martinelli has failed to recapture his form. He endured a difficult 2023-24 season, managing just six goals and four assists in the league. The Brazilian has shown glimpses of his ability this season with three goals and two assists in 14 league games so far.

His dip in returns could be considered a factor in the Gunners' drop off this season. Arteta's men have developed an increased reliance on set-pieces to find the back of the net. The side have found it difficult to get goals from midfield and other attackers apart from Saka and Kai Havertz, who each have five goals in the Premier League.

Arsenal emerge as front-runners to sign out-of-favor Chelsea star: Reports

Dewsbury-Hall has struggled to break into Chelsea's first team.

Arsenal have emerged as favorites among a variety of Premier League sides interested in signing Chelsea midfielder Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall. According to CaughtOffside, the Gunners are looking to beat off competition to sign the 26-year-old.

The report claims that apart from Mikel Arteta's side, Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester United, Aston Villa, Newcastle United and Fulham are all monitoring his situation.

Dewsbury-Hall followed Enzo Maresca from Leicester to Chelsea, signing for £30 million in the summer. However, he has found minutes hard to come by, especially in the Premier League where he has made just five appearances, all off the bench. He has been a regular in the Conference League but could be willing to depart to get more regular playing time.

The Englishman would be a valuable addition to Arsenal, who already boast a talented midfield including Declan Rice and Martin Odegaard amongst others. With the contracts of Thomas Partey and Jorginho expiring in the summer, Dewsbury-Hall could definitely find playing time for the Gunners.