Arsenal must swoop for £325k-p/w star who’s better than Martinelli

Arsenal recorded their second 2-0 victory ofthePremier League season, with Mikel Arteta’s men beating Unai Emery’sAston Villa side, to take six points from their opening two fixtures.

One player who stood out, with a goal from the bench, was Leandro Trossard, replacing Gabriel Martinelli who struggled to put his print on the game. Trossard entered the game in the 65th minute, scoring two minutes later to give Arsenal a 1-0 lead.

Trossard made 46 appearances for Arsenal last season in all competitions, scoring 17 goals and providing two assists, whilst alternative left-wing option Gabriel Martinelli made 44 appearances for the Gunners , scoring eight goals and providing five assists.

Arsenal transfer news

According to a recent report from HITC, Arsenal have been offered the chance to sign Chelsea winger Raheem Sterling, after he was told he was ‘out of the project ‘ last week.

The player is currently assessing options both in England and abroad, but the 29-year-old is said to prefer a move to an English club, and ideally to stay in London.

Sterling made 43 appearances in all competitions for Chelsea last season, scoring 10 goals, providing eight assists, and totaling 2,771 minutes played.

Sterling vs Martinelli comparison

Sterling, once described as “brilliant” by Jacek Kulig, has struggled since joining the Blues to find his best form, which saw him score 131 goals in 339 appearances for Manchester City.

On FBref’s ‘similar players ‘ feature, Sterling and Martinelli are actually compared, their stats ranking fairly similarly, with a similar number of minutes and games played.

The £325k p/w star ranks between Martinelli and Trossard in most metrics, giving you a good indication that whilst each of the Arsenal wingers provides different assets, Sterling could perhaps offer a combination of the two.

Trossard was in hot goal-scoring from last season, backed up by his 0.67 goals per 90 metric, and he started the new campaign as he means to go on, scoring the opener against Villa yesterday.

Martinelli, on the other hand, has been slightly more creative, producing 5.68 progressive carries per 90, averaging 0.25 xAG (expected assists) per 90, and producing 3.92 shot-creating actions per 90.

Sterling outscored Martinelli, with 0.33 goals per 90 (to Martinelli’s 0.27), whilst also outperforming Trossard in progressive carries, shot-creating actions, and xAG, further proving that Sterling could add a combination of the goalscoring and creativity output of the current Arsenal duo.

And this is just if Arsenal get this current version of Sterling. If a change of environment could revitalise the English winger, you could see increased numbers in the final third, as he showed in his time at Man City, and this would provide Arteta with a better option than Martinelli on the flank.