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Sky Sports pundit Paul Merson has blasted Arsenal forward Gabriel Martinelli for being offside in the build-up to his side's cancelled goal during the 1-1 draw with Fulham. The Gunners visited their fellow London-based side, level on points with second-placed Chelsea, but failed to secure a win to put pressure on Liverpool at the top of the standings.
The Brazilian winger nearly provided the match-winning moment for the north Londoners against the Cottagers. However, he drifted offside before crossing the ball to Bukayo Saka for what would have been the match-winner in the 88th minute.
Merson was furious with Martinelli and told Sky Sports after the final whistle:
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“In football terms, it’s criminal what Martinelli has done. You CANNOT be offside. I’d be surprised if he’s not on the end of one in the dressing room by the manager. You can’t be offside when you look along that line.”
Martinelli has been at Arsenal since he joined the club in 2019 from Ituano in Brazil for a reported €7.1 million. He has played 193 games for the side, bagging 45 goals and providing 27 assists.
“We have to learn from that and make sure we strike back in the next one" - Arsenal captain unhappy with draw away to Fulham
Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard discussed his disappointment following his side's 1-1 draw away to Fulham in the Premier League. The Gunners failed to secure a win on the road, which would have reduced the gap between them and table-toppers Liverpool to four points.
The midfielder was not at his best in the game, losing six out of seven duels in his 79 minutes on the pitch. After the final whistle, Odegaard said in his post-match interview with Sky Sports (via arseblog.news):
“I think we dominated most of the game although the first half wasn’t great from us, it was a bit sloppy on the ball, lacked energy, some power. The second half was a lot better but it’s frustrating not to win. It was close at the end with the goal [ruled out by VAR], yeah, frustrating. It [Fulham] is a good team, they know how to defend, it’s a solid block, a lot of players behind the ball and really compact. We knew that before the game, we tried to deal with it and we didn’t do enough today."
“We have to learn from that and make sure we strike back in the next one. After Manchester City also dropped points yesterday, Liverpool will be enjoying their weekend without even playing. The title is very much theirs to lose. We have to focus on ourselves. We don’t care about the other teams [in the title race],”
The Arsenal skipper added:
“We did a lot of good things. We have to do more and put the ball in the box more times. Maybe be a bit more direct and aggressive. We could have won it in the end. It’s a very long way to go. We’ve said hundreds of times we have to keep going game by game.”
Arsenal next face Monaco midweek in the UEFA Champions League before going up against Everton in their next league clash. The north London side will be keen to secure wins in those games and get in a good run of form in the hectic festive fixtures.
