Mikel Arteta praised Gabriel Martinelli for “taking responsibility” after his opener set Arsenal on the way to a 4-1 win against Crystal Palace, with the Brazilian getting back on track after missing the decisive penalty in the shootout defeat by Sporting in the Europa League on Thursday.
Martinelli broke the deadlock against Palace with a superb finish, whipping a shot into the far corner after he was set up by Bukayo Saka. His teammate followed up with two goals of his own either side of a strike from Granit Xhaka, with Jeffrey Schlupp’s consolation midway through the second half failing to turn the tide. The win extended Arsenal’s lead at the top of the table to eight points, albeit having played one game more than Manchester City.
Asked how the team had rallied round Martinelli after the disappointment of Arsenal’s Europa League exit, Arteta said: “They were a team around him straight away. But he is not someone who is very concerned with this part of football. He takes responsibility, chances, and when you see him running around the next day with that energy, honestly I wasn’t very concerned about it.”
Pressed on getting the best out of Saka and Martinelli, he said: “[I] just make sure that every day they do the right things. They eat the right things, they live the right way and everything that they put in this brain is the right information. Don’t get confused because it’s about tomorrow, it’s about the next day, it’s about the next match and this is what we have to do.
“To be fair they have the right environment, the right families, the right agents, and it’s not a coincidence that they behave consistently the way they do. That’s why they can perform at the level that they do.”
With Arsenal hosting Leeds after the international break, Arteta urged his players to keep themselves in the best possible shape for the run-in. “[I would ask] that they really look after themselves in this period and we’ll try to look after the players who remain with us here. [Also] that they come back with the same mindset and hunger from before to go into Leeds, which is the only important game that we have right now, and try to win that one.”
