Two Arsenal stars Mikel Arteta must build his team around and one flop who has no future

Mikel Arteta has been in the Arsenal hot-seat for five weeks and it is becoming increasingly clear who he can and can't rely on

The way the Arsenal players celebrated their 2-2 draw with Chelsea on Tuesday, you'd be forgiven for thinking it was a crucial point in their fight for the Premier League. In reality, it was their 12th draw of a mediocre season, which has featured just six league wins.

By Thursday night, Liverpool had moved an incredible 37 points clear of Arsenal with 15 games still to go for the runaway leaders.



But it would be churlish to not give some praise to Arsenal for displaying the kind of character and commitment they have been missing for a long time.


Despite the lack of wins you tend to get when a new manager arrives, it is abundantly clear Arteta has had a major impact on players, who'd simply failed to pull their weight under Unai Emery

And, two teenagers, in particular, have shown a level of maturity and fortitude which Arteta can take forward and nurture in the coming years.

With a goal on his debut in pre-season against the Colorado Rapids, it was clear Gabriel Martinelli was a bit special. But the fearlessness and sheer effort he's displayed all season should have left several of his team-mates questioning whether they were doing enough.

There's no half measures with the Brazilian, who has looked at ease in English football, and it was he who carried the fight to Chelsea and got his reward with a sensational length of pitch run and finish into the back of the net.

“A lot of people talk about his talent, but what people don’t see is that Gabi is a professional," said right-back Hector Bellerin.

He turns up early every day. He does all the stuff and everything anyone asks him to do. He is the first player to press and the last player to leave everything on the pitch. The goals are just a plus. He helps us in every single way and the thing that everyone needs to praise him for his attitude. That is what makes him a player."

Right now the 18-year-old is undroppable because, without him, Arsenal would be desperately short on pace, cutting edge and goals.

And in a season of lows, the burgeoning partnership between him and Bukayo Saka is a beacon of hope for Arteta. Saka is even younger and less experienced than Martinelli but his rate of development has exceeded all expectations.

He has been thrown into a team in crisis but in spite of his slight frame, he has always stood strong and proved himself to be a talent not just for the future but the present.

Arteta has a reputation for making players better and it can only be positive that Saka is embracing the Spaniard's methods.

"He's someone who understands the players, understands the club and all the ideas that he's bringing in," he said.

"He has a clear strategy of how he wants us to play and we're just really excited to work with him