‘Sell him at half time’ – Arsenal fans furious at struggling star and demand Mikel Arteta makes urgent signing

ARSENAL fans demanded that Gabriel Martinelli be sold at HALF-TIME of their clash against Villarreal.

Martinelli, 24, was named in the starting XI for Mikel Arteta’s Gunners as they took on their Spanish rivals in a friendly at the Emirates.

The Brazilian was named at left wing to partner Bukayo Saka and new signing Viktor Gyokeres in attack.

However, he did not enjoy the most fruitful football in his career, much to the dismay of the Emirates faithful and watching Gooners around the world.

This was highlighted by him losing eight duels out of 12 and only completing three of his seven dribbles.

And Arsenal fans, who had been left frustrated by the lack of attacking additions prior to Gyokeres’ arrival – with only the divisive move of Noni Madueke coming in, demanded action was taken to land a new left winger ASAP.

Taking to social media, one fan said: “Sell Martinelli at half time, this guy’s actually rubbish smh.”

A second said: “It’s 15 minutes. Martinelli already lost balls 4 times while in attack. How much do we need to pay him if we just terminate his contract? This is unacceptable.”

Another said: “Gyokeres saw half an hour of Martinelli on the left and decided he would do it instead.”

A fourth added: “Gyokeres goes to the left wing and immediately makes more of an impact than Martinelli. My goodness we need a LW.”

A fifth said: “Saudi if you can hear me please take Gabriel Martinelli.”

While a sixth said: “I cannot do Martinelli for another season, I physically cannot.”

The Martinelli comments came with the Gunners losing to their Spanish rivals following goals from former Arsenal flop Nicolas Pepe – who bizarrely refused to celebrate – and Karl Etta Eyong.

Despite the criticism levelled at him, Martinelli was actually the man to provide a spark to Arsenal’s attack when he lifted a corner to the far post for Christian Norgaard to head home in the 36th minute.

After an uneventful second half for the winger, Martinelli was eventually replaced by Madueke in the 77th minute.

They went on to lose the game after Arnaut Danjuma added a third for the La Liga side, with Martin Odegaard adding a consolation from the penalty spot.

Arsenal open their season with a trip to Old Trafford to face Manchester United, who appear to be on the brink of landing former Gunners transfer target Benjamin Sesko.

But Arsenal will first play out the Emirates Cup at home to Athletic Bilbao.

In the market they remain linked with Crystal Palace star Eberechi Eze, although as SunSport exclusively reported earlier this week, he and team-mate Marc Guehi look likely to stay with the Eagles.