'Nowhere near it' - Arsenal legend perplexed by Mikel Arteta tactical decision amid reignited title challenge

Arsenal were rampant at the weekend, as they demolished a lacklustre Crystal Palace outfit by a wide score line of 5-0 at the Emirates Stadium - but Gunners icon Ian Wright was bemused by Mikel Arteta's decision to leave Gabriel Martinelli out of the starting line-up.

Wright said he was 'very surprised' that Martinelli was not named amongst the players to start the game on Saturday. Regardless, he said he was 'quite pleased' when the Brazilian came on as a substitute and left his mark on the game in the dying embers.

Despite failing to make the starting XI, Martinelli still managed to notch up a quickfire brace against the Eagles. Both of his goals came in added time - he was brought on in the second half when he replaced Leandro Trossard in the 69th minute.

Wright's criticisms aside, it was a very comfortable outing for the Gunners. Gabriel scored the first goal of the day, as he bullied the Palace defence from a set piece - he almost nodded in a second, but it was ultimately ruled as an own goal. Following this, Trossard made it 3-0 on the 59th minute.

What did Ian Wright say about Gabriel Martinelli?

Speaking to TalkSPORT, Wright said: "When you get someone like Gabriel Martinelli in that much space, the line was so high, I was very surprised he didn’t start. I’m quite pleased he came on and made the impact he did. [His first goal is] a very good finish. Very accurate. Brilliant, superb. 

"[With the second] Palace are all over the place, the midfield is nowhere near it, look at how much space he has got. Can he finish? Yeah, he can. You’ve got to take advantage when teams are playing poorly like Palace were. You can really punish these teams."