Freddie Ljungberg questions Arsenal fans over treatment of £60m star

Freddie Ljungberg has questioned Arsenal fans’ treatment of Gabriel Martinelli, accusing supporters of ‘forgetting’ what the attacker did for the club before his summer exit.

Martinelli managed just one goal and four assists in the Premier League as Arsenal finally brought their wait for the title to an end last season, in what was the Brazilian’s seventh year at the Emirates.

It was subsequently decided that Arsenal would be open to offers for Martinelli after the 25-year-old was named amongst Mikel Arteta’s substitutes for the club’s last six matches of the campaign in all competitions.

Martinelli would go on to complete a move to Saudi Pro League outfit Al-Hilal in a deal worth around £60million, becoming the second first-team winger to depart following Leandro Trossard’s switch to Besiktas a month-and-a-half earlier.

Christos Tzolis was signed from Club Brugge to help fill the void left by the loss of the two title-winning forwards and the English champions worked right up until the end of the window to find another top-class attacker for Arteta.

But the Arsenal head coach was left disappointed as the deadline came and went, and there are some fears they may be a little short of options on the left flank.

‘A Brazilian football player, he works that hard, the age he has and numbers and stuff, that’s not a cheap football player,’ ex-Arsenal winger Ljungberg said of Martinelli on Viaplay.

‘And they sold him for quite a lot of money so I was a little bit [surprised] when people really wanted him out and fans wanted him out.

‘I was a bit like, “That’s a good player that you just want out”, but that’s what everybody felt that they seemed to be wanting and they got rid of him. They got good money for him.

‘Sometimes the fans forget, maybe, how much he has done for this club, how many important goals he scored during the years.’

Though somewhat miffed by some fans’ perception of Martinelli, Ljungberg can understand why the Gunners decided to bring in Tzolis as a replacement.

According to Ljungberg, the Greece international – signed for a fee of £34m – perhaps looks a little more ‘tactically aware’ than the man he succeeded on the left.

‘If you talk about Martinelli, sometimes he did irrational things,’ the Swede – who won two Premier League titles with Arsenal – added.

‘It annoyed people that he maybe missed his touch or something because everything went 300 miles an hour.

‘Maybe he didn’t do exactly the things defensively as he should do.

‘But Tzolis looks like he’s a little bit more… I don’t want to say controllable, but maybe a bit more tactically aware, does the work and stands in the right positions.’

In the wake of Martinelli’s summer departure, Arteta took the opportunity to pay tribute to the Brazil international, praising his ‘transformation’ as a player and ‘love for the game’.

Asked to explain his feelings about Martinelli, the Spaniard replied: ‘Gratitude.

‘It’s been a pleasure to work with him, to be part of this journey with him.

‘He’s gone through a huge transformation, both in his personal and professional side, his ambition, his love for the game and how he has helped us to grow and achieve our goals.

‘He’s been a critical player… [but] the story ends.’

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