Ian Wright Criticizes Arsenal Over Martinelli's Exile
Arsenal’s season began with a comfortable scoreline and an uncomfortable subplot.
A 3-0 win over Coventry City at the Emirates, goals from Bukayo Saka, Kai Havertz and Martin Odegaard, delivered exactly the kind of statement Mikel Arteta wanted on the opening night of their Premier League title defence. The football was sharp, the crowd buoyant, the champions in control.
But one name was missing. Completely.
Gabriel Martinelli was nowhere to be seen – not on the pitch, not on the bench, not even in the squad – and Ian Wright is furious about it.
A clean win, a messy situation
As Arsenal swept aside Frank Lampard’s Coventry, the story on the pitch felt straightforward. Saka struck early, Havertz added another, Odegaard wrapped it up. Routine. Efficient. The kind of night where attention usually stays on the goals and the swagger.
Instead, it drifted quickly to a Brazilian winger with a year left on his contract and no place in Arteta’s plans.
Martinelli, 25, has been pushed to the fringes as Arsenal explore a sale before the end of the summer window. He was already left out of the squad that beat Manchester City in the Community Shield, and again he watched from the outside as his teammates opened their league campaign with a statement victory.
A £38 million bid from Galatasaray arrived last week. Arsenal were ready to talk. Martinelli was not. He has made it clear he does not want to move to the Turkish league.
So he waits. And according to Wright, he waits without answers.
Wright: “It makes me feel uncomfortable”
Speaking on Sky Sports after the Coventry game, Wright did not hide his anger at how the situation is unfolding.
“In respects to Martinelli and the way Martinelli has been treated at the moment it really makes me feel uncomfortable,” he said.
This is not a pundit talking about a fringe player who never quite made it. Wright stressed that Martinelli has delivered in big moments for Arsenal, has scored important goals, and has consistently emptied the tank for the club.
“Because he always gives 100 per cent, I’m not saying he’s the greatest, he’s really come up with some big moments for Arsenal, some big games, he’s scored some very important goals… the way he’s been treated at the end here, I know they might want him out, and there’s a lot of people saying, ‘yeah, maybe it’s time for him to move on’, but there’s ways of doing that and it should suit him as well, how he wants to leave.”
That’s the crux for Wright: not that Arsenal might decide to move on from Martinelli, but how they are going about it.
“Not being spoken to, doesn’t know what’s going on”
Wright went further, claiming Martinelli has been left in limbo.
“Not being in the squad, not being spoken to, doesn’t know what’s going on, yes, I do know this, again, not being involved in the Community Shield squad, he doesn’t know what’s happening, I think he’s got a year left [on his contract].”
For a player still in his mid-20s, with a title-winning season behind him and a reputation for work rate and intensity, the sudden freeze-out jars. Wright’s frustration comes from the feeling that Arsenal could be more transparent, more direct, and more respectful with someone who has contributed heavily in recent years.
The pecking order and the message
Wright also touched on the competitive reality of elite squads. Players understand when true superstars arrive and push them down the order. That, he argued, is not the case here.
“If you bring Vini [Vinicius Junior] in, that kind of level in, Martinelli can say to himself, ‘well, okay, they’ve brought him and Tzolis, I might be third [choice]’, but if you’re bringing Tzolis in, and he’s looking at Tzolis, you look at Madueke on the other [wing], you’re thinking to yourself, ‘I think I can still have it with these two, I still think I’ve got something to offer here’.”
The point is clear: Martinelli would accept being nudged aside by a global superstar. Being frozen out while looking at players he believes he can compete with is a different kind of blow.
“For him to be nowhere near it, it makes me feel sad for him,” Wright added.
That sadness quickly turned back into criticism.
“I’m just saying I think he’s done enough with this team, with this squad, to be treated with a little bit more respect than he’s being treated at the moment.”
A clean break or a brewing storm?
Arsenal’s night ended with three goals, three points and a reminder of their title credentials. On the surface, everything looked serene.
Underneath, the Martinelli situation now carries a sharper edge. A club legend has publicly accused the club and manager of mishandling one of their own, a player still under contract, still in his prime, and still, in his eyes, good enough to fight for his place.
If Arsenal want a clean break, they will need to manage the next few weeks carefully. Because right now, their most convincing performance of the season so far has come with a question mark attached: what happens next with Gabriel Martinelli?
