Bruno Guimaraes can unlock the best version of a player Arsenal fans have written off

Cast your mind back to the 2022-23 season.

Gabriel Martinelli was extraordinary. Fifteen Premier League goals, relentless energy, a constant threat in behind.

Jurgen Klopp had called him “a talent of the century” in 2019 and in January 2022 couldn’t help himself again, declaring: “Everybody should remember that name. Outstanding player. If he is without major injuries, he will have a proper career.”

Arsenal fans and the general football world agreed. His future felt limitless.

Another three seasons later, the conversation around him couldn’t be more different. Just one Premier League goal last season and the Gunners are now very open to a sale, with links to Roma and Galatasaray bubbling.

The consensus among many is that Martinelli has plateaued, and that the 2022-23 campaign was the peak rather than the beginning.

But a closer look at the data, and at what is changing at Arsenal this summer, suggests those fans may be writing him off too soon.

Gabriel Martinelli’s decline may not be all that it seems

In 2022-23, the left side of Arsenal’s team was built perfectly for Martinelli to thrive.

You had Oleksandr Zinchenko roaming infield from left-back, dragging space open for the Brazilian to exploit, while Granit Xhaka was the left eight, always looking to thread passes through.

Meanwhile, you had Gabriel Jesus dropping deep and drifting into the left channel, regularly interchanging with Martinelli.

Ultimately, you had a player who could focus on what he does best: darting in behind, and sniffing out chances in the areas where he is most dangerous.

Then Xhaka left, Zinchenko lost his place, and the left-back role was filled by natural centre-backs or right-footed players rather than playmaking inverted full-backs.

The left eight became Kai Havertz, Mikel Merino or Declan Rice — physical, duel-monsters rather than creative passers looking to find Martinelli in behind.

He was asked to perform without the conditions that made him exceptional, and unsurprisingly, his output suffered.

Bruno Guimaraes can unlock the best version of Gabriel Martinelli

Bruno Guimaraes is not Granit Xhaka. He is better.

But importantly, he shares the traits and qualities that unlocked Martinelli’s best football.

He wants the ball in tight spaces, he plays line-breaking passes, and he finds teammates in behind.

Factor in Riccardo Calafiori to the equation, who barely played alongside Martinelli in the Premier League last year (371 minutes in total), and suddenly the conditions that produced Martinelli’s 2022-23 campaign are starting to reassemble.

Plus, a fit Havertz up front will be far more beneficial for him than playing with Viktor Gyokeres, with the German being a more technical facilitator.

At 25, the same age Mohamed Salah joined Liverpool, maybe it’s too early to write Martinelli off just yet.

Bruno Guimaraes might just be the signing that proves it.