Arsenal summer signing told he must ‘be better’ as Romano reveals ‘internal feeling’ in clear update
Fabrizio Romano has revealed the ‘internal feeling’ on one Arsenal star after the Premier League giants beat Athletic Bilbao 2-0 on Tuesday night.
Arsenal had their first Champions League group game on Tuesday evening as they travelled to face La Liga outfit Athletic Bilbao.
The Gunners were far from their best in this game, but they won 2-0 as their superb depth made the big difference in the closing stages, with substitutes Gabriel Martinelli and Leandro Trossard scoring in the final 20 minutes.
Martinelli has been criticised for his poor form at the start of this season, and manager Mikel Arteta decided to start summer signing Ebere Eze ahead of the Brazil international against Bilbao.
However, Eze did very little as he struggled to get into the game, while Martinelli made an instant impact after coming on, scoring with one of his first touches.
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Pundit Steve McManaman subsequently hit out at Eze after “Martinelli did more in five minutes than he did in 70 minutes”, so the England international needs to “be better”.
“Martinelli did more in five minutes than Eze did in 70 minutes,” McManaman said on TNT Sports.
“Eze will watch that performance tonight when he goes back and say ‘this is a different class of opposition’. They’re quicker, stronger than he faced in the Premier League with Crystal Palace, and he knows his level will have to jump up.
“You’re now playing big boy football in the Champions League. If you want to compete, you have to be quicker, you have to be better than he showed tonight.”
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McManaman was more positive about Eze before the match, though. He said: “I think it was a magnificent signing. He’s potentially a world superstar.
“When he plays at the biggest stadiums and in bigger competitions, he will get better. He looks like one of those players who takes it on his back and thinks ‘this is very easy’.”
Romano has also revealed the ‘internal feeling’ at Arsenal over Martinelli after his great cameo off the bench against Athletic Bilbao.
In a Q&A for GiveMeSport, Romano revealed: “[Arsenal are] very happy [with Martinelli]. Top mentality, coming off the bench in fantastic way. Arsenal are very happy with Gabriel.”
On new centre-back Cristhian Mosquera, Romano has indicated that sporting director Andrea Berta feels he got a bargain when signing him from Valencia in the summer.
He added: “Of course. Same for everyone at Arsenal. He’s an excellent defender and signing him for £13m is more than a bargain!”
