Arsenal legend Theo Walcott says Gabriel Martinelli must “improve” one aspect of his game after his “massive moment” in the 2-0 loss against Bournemouth.
Mikel Arteta‘s side suffered their first Premier League defeat of the 2024/25 campaign on Saturday as they were beaten 2-0 by Bournemouth.
The Gunners were dealt an early blow in this game as defender William Saliba was sent off for denying Bournemouth striker Evanilson a goal-scoring opportunity. He was initially shown a yellow card but this was upgraded to a red following a VAR review.
Arteta made a defensive change following this blow as Raheem Sterling was sacrificed for Jakub Kiwior, but Arsenal were far from their best as they were deservedly beaten.
Ryan Christie broke the deadlock from a corner with around 20 minutes to go before Justin Kluivert converted a penalty to take the game away from Arsenal.
Before Bournemouth took the lead, Martinelli had a huge chance to score but his shot from inside the penalty area was saved by Kepa Arrizabalaga.
Walcott thinks Martinelli “could improve” with “these opportunities” after this “massive moment”.
“This side of Martinelli where we always feel he could improve these opportunities, which he practices endlessly,” Walcott said on Sky Sports.
“And for me, he gives the goalkeeper a very clear way he’s going to go straight away. He opens up his body too soon.”
Walcott added: “Of course, it’s a great save, but look, this is Arsenal, they want to win the league. It’s a massive moment for not just Arsenal, but for Martinelli himself.
“You don’t have to overthink it. I think at times, Martinelli, when he has a bit more time on the ball, he actually overthinks it instead of actually doing something instinctive.
“And I think that’s probably what he’s down for at times with his goalscoring record at the moment.”
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Walcott also “never felt Arsenal were in control” as their “sluggish” players “struggled from minute one”.
“They struggled from minute one. It was like they were still on international duty, locked away. They were strangers,” Walcott said.
“They lost the ball too often, a lot of arms thrown around, a lot of frustration.
“There wasn’t the free-flowing football that we’re used to seeing from them. There was a lot of arguing with each other, and that’s not what we want to see. So they’ll want to dive away from this result as quickly as possible.
“I never felt Arsenal were in control. They felt sluggish coming out of the blocks. It was like they hadn’t had time to work together. They were second to everything, they didn’t look like they were hungry to get a result. It was like they were going through the motions.”
