Mikel Arteta sends message to Gabriel Martinelli

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has said that Gabriel Martinelli needs to keep working harder in order to return to the playing field.

The Brazilian is regarded as one of the best young players at the club, but he has hardly featured since the turn of the year.

Martinelli has played only 53 minutes of league football in 2021 and he has been an unused substitute with regularity.

Arteta had the chance to bring in on towards the end of the 3-1 triumph at Leicester City, but he instead opted for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.

Speaking after the game, Arteta urged the 19-year-old to keep working and said that he will be handed the opportunity at some point of time.

"Well, he needs to keep working and making it difficult for us. He is a player that is going to give us a lot, but we need some time to find the right games for him and the right connections with him on the pitch so that he can do what he does best," He told Arsenal.com.

The Gunners made a poor start at the King Power Stadium as they went 1-0 down after only six minutes on the clock.

They redeemed themselves with goals from David Luiz, Alexandre Lacazette and Nicolas Pepe to return to winning ways in the league.

The north London side are now 10th in the standings with 37 points, eight adrift of the final Champions League group stage spot.