Arsenal risk another Martinelli situation as European giants monitor benched star

Arsenal's big summer departure was that of Gabriel Martinelli, who left to join Saudi Pro League side Al-Hilal for a fee of £60m. The 25-year-old spent seven years with the Gunners, making over 270 appearances and scoring 62 goals, but his role had gradually decreased over the past few seasons.

Leandro Trossard's form, especially last season, forced Mikel Arteta to demote Martinelli to the bench more often than not. Martinelli's lack of game time made the Brazilian a key contender to leave in the summer, and so it proved.

This season's Martinelli could be Noni Madueke. The former Chelsea winger has struggled to get minutes so far, playing just 23 minutes in two Premier League appearances off the bench. The England international comes off a season where he managed to make an impact, scoring eight goals in 43 games.

If he continues to struggle for minutes, the 24-year-old could be the next contender to leave the Emirates, with a potential January exit rumoured in recent transfer reports. Caught Offside claims that both Atletico Madrid and Juventus are monitoring Madueke and could potentially make a move for him in the January window.

The reports indicate that this would just be a loan exit at this stage, but if he does continue to be on the periphery of Arteta's first team, he could push for a permanent move to get some regular first-team football, boosting his chances to keep a spot in the England squad.

Martinelli's transfer away wasn't a complete mistake in that the Gunners got a really good transfer fee for him. However, he was pushed away by the lack of game time, especially last season. As things stand, Madueke looks to be on the same pathway, and this could prove to be a mistake by the Gunners.

With the emergence of Christos Tzolis, alongside Bukayo Saka consistently starting at the right-wing spot, Madueke has become somewhat of a second thought for Arteta. If this continues throughout the season, we could see the former Chelsea star moving on.

This would be a huge misstep by Arsenal. If Madueke left, it would leave Saka, Tzolis, Max Dowman and Eberechi Eze (although Eze is better in the number 10 spot) in terms of wingers. All of a sudden, Arsenal's exceptional depth in attack would look quite thin, which could be damaging come the back end of the season when they hope to be challenging for the Premier League title and vying for the Champions League, not to mention potential injury problems.

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