After an international break that saw them lose Martin Odegaard, Arsenal resumed their Premier League campaign over the weekend with a brilliant 1-0 win over fierce rivals Tottenham Hotspur.

It wasn’t a vintage performance from Mikel Arteta’s side, but they managed to nullify their opponent’s hyper-attacking style of play and claim all three points courtesy of a Gabriel Magalhães header in the second half.

However, while the fans should still be basking in their club’s derby win, the team have to prepare for their first match of the Champions League tonight, away to Atalanta.

With the format being changed to a league competition, the Gunners have to get off to a winning start. As such, Arteta needs to put out another strong lineup, although he should make a few changes, one of which is dropping Gabriel Martinelli.

Gabriel Martinelli's recent form

Over the last 18 months or so, Martinelli hasn’t been in the greatest form. He ended last season with eight goals and five assists in 44 games, a far cry from the 15 goals and six assists he racked up the campaign prior.

There was some hope that the former Ituano gem would return to his best at the start of this season after a reasonably impressive showing in preseason.

However, after four appearances, three of which have been starts, he still hasn’t scored or assisted a single goal and has amassed a paltry expected goals figure of just 0.25, which is seriously underwhelming.

In his defence, while he missed that big chance against Spurs on Sunday, he was lively and kept Pedro Porro on his toes while also providing some defensive cover to Jurrien Timber, but it is starting to feel like last year all over again.

Overall, the Guarulhos-born gem is clearly a talented player, but it would make sense for Arteta to take him out of the spotlight, give him a rest for tonight’s important game, and start another winger who has an awful lot to prove in his place.

Why Raheem Sterling should start

Now, the first thing to say is that, yes, Raheem Sterling is in a similar boat to Martinelli at the moment in that his stock has fallen quite dramatically over the last couple of years.

However, there are two key differences. The first is that the Englishman’s struggles have come in the context of a massively dysfunctional Chelsea side, where Kai Havertz was also struggling before he moved to North London.

Second, while he’s not been at his best, the 29-year-old has still been productive.

Appearances

43

Minutes

2759′

Goals

10

Assists

8

Goal Involvements per Match

0.41

Minutes per Goal Involvement

153′

For example, in his 43 appearances for the Blues last season, the “incredible” winger, as talent scout Jacek Kulig dubbed him, scored ten goals and provided eight assists, meaning he averaged a goal involvement every 2.38 games.

Moreover, with a must-win clash away to Manchester City coming up on the weekend, the 82-capped international might not get another chance to start a game until next week, which in turn could make him less sharp when called upon in other matches.

Ultimately, despite putting in a useful performance against Spurs on Sunday, Martinelli’s struggles in front of goal continue, and even though his reputation has taken a hit, Sterling was surprisingly productive last year.Therefore, the Brazilian should be dropped from the starting lineup for the Englishman this evening.

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