Gabriel Martinelli started the sequence when he came off the bench to open the scoring in Arsenal’s 2-0 Champions League win at Athletic Bilbao last month. He continued it when he came on again in their next game to conjure the stoppage-time equaliser against Manchester City in the Premier League. And together with everyone at Arsenal, not least Mikel Arteta, who has not stopped talking about the importance of “finishers”, he can luxuriate in how it has grown.
When Bukayo Saka was introduced to score the clinching goal in Wednesday’s 2-0 Champions League victory over Olympiakos, it was the fifth match in a row that an Arsenal substitute had found the net.
