Mikel Arteta has singled out the one key trait that Gabriel Martinelli has improved in recent weeks.

Martinelli struggled to break into the first-team picture at the Emirates at the beginning of the season and only featured in six of the north London club’s opening 13 Premier League matches.

However, the Brazilian star has since started each of Arsenal’s last five top flight matches, scoring three goals in the Gunners’ last two outings against West Ham United and Leeds United. 

The 20-year-old’s performances have meant that Emile Smith Rowe has had to settle for a place among the substitutes bench, while former club captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has been exiled from the first-term altogether due to ‘disciplinary reasons.’

And Arteta has explained why Martinelli’s performance levels have risen recently, singling out one key area of his game that he has improved on.

‘You cannot play every action at 100mph, it is impossible,’ Arteta said.

‘It is not very efficient for you because you burn yourself out after a few minutes, and then you just chasing a situation and not reading exactly what is needed.

‘Gabriel is doing much better at that. We have to try to do that without losing the passion, the energy and this capacity he has to just affect the game with the way he acts on the pitch.

‘He trains incredibly hard, he is always willing to do more and he is not scared or afraid to take risks, and that is what I like about him.’

When asked what it would be like to play against Martinelli, Arteta added: ‘I can imagine, you’re not going to have any time on the ball, every time the ball is 50/50 he is going to chase it and he’s going to use his body, his speed, his technical ability to get away from you and you have to be careful, because he can attack you one v one, he can attack your back, he can make movements off the ball. He is a real threat in front of goal.’

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Source: Metro Sport