Mikel Arteta will have been incredibly pleased with Arsenal’s efforts against Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday evening.
Arsenal’s 2-0 victory was crafted by a vibrant attacking display in the first half and then cemented by a controlled, ‘we’ll take our clean sheet’ performance in the second.
It’s a strength of Arteta’s side that they are now capable of such displays, something the Spaniard has carefully crafted over the years.
Arsenal were being accused of being too defensive at times last season, but it now feels as if the Gunners have the perfect balance – helped by Bukayo Saka’s brilliance.
Saka, Kai Havertz and William Saliba were all highly rated by the French press after PSG’s defeat in north London – three of the side’s most consistent performers.
However, on an evening of good showings, some parts of the French media still took issue with Gabriel Martinelli’s display.
Gabriel Martinelli told he was ‘invisible’ in his first 45 minutes
Footmercato handed Havertz the player of the match award and a 7.5/10 for his efforts on Tuesday evening, deservedly so.
However, the outlet only scored Martinelli 5/10, saying he was the ‘least visible’ player in an Arsenal shirt in the first 45 minutes – a surprising conclusion.
In a lot of interpretations, Martinelli looked confident from the outset and contributed excellently in a defensive capacity.
However, that’s not how the Footmercato saw it, for the first half at least.
They wrote: “The least visible member of the four Londoners in front, the Brazilian was invisible in the first half. Which did not prevent his team from leading (2-0) at the break.
Although, the outlet did then praise the Brazilian for his second half efforts saying he ‘set fire’ to PSG’s right side.
“More impactful, he set fire to the Parisian right side, abandoned by the forward advances of [Achraf] Hakimi.”
Mikel Merino makes his Arsenal debut
On a night of success at the Emirates, Mikel Merino returned from his shoulder injury to make his debut against PSG.
Ian Wright was amazed by Merino’s debut, excited to see how he and Declan Rice continue to combine in the future.
Perhaps the international break will come at the perfect time for the Spaniard, who may be deemed a little bit short of fitness to be called up by his country, allowing time for a rest.
Either way, if he is called up then Merino has an opportunity to build his match sharpness again – a win, win situation for the Gunners.
That being said, Jurrien Timber was excellent for Arsenal before going off injured against PSG, an issue that Arteta will hope is very minor.
