He'd revive Martinelli: Arsenal in the race to sign world-class £109m star (2024)

And just like that, a successful preseason comes to an end with a comfortable 2-0 win over Lyon for Arsenal in the Emirates Cup.

Mikel Arteta's side looked good for much of the encounter, although one player who was quite hit-and-miss during his time on the pitch was Gabriel Martinelli.

The Brazilian winger has bags of talent and looked incredibly dangerous at times, but he also left the pitch without a goal or assist to his name.

It's set to be a massive campaign for the former Ituano gem this season as he looks to establish himself as the Gunners' number one option on the left. Luckily for him, one of the stars recently touted for a move to N5 could be the perfect teammate to help him get back to his very best once again.

Arsenal transfer news

According to a recent report from Italian journalist Gianluca DiMarzio, Arsenal could 'get back into the game' for Napoli's Victor Osimhen this summer.

DiMarzio has revealed that while the Nigerian striker is still of interest to Paris Saint-Germain and clubs in the Saudi Pro League, the Gunners must be considered in the conversation.

The Italian does not mention the potential fee the North Londoners might have to pay, but stories from last week reported that the Neapolitans are still after the striker's €130m release clause, which converts to a cool £109m.

Bringing Osimhen in this summer would represent an enormous investment from the Gunners, but considering his ability and the fact that he could help revive Martinelli, it is likely worth making.

Why Osimhen would be a great signing for Martinelli

Okay, while there may well be any number of reasons why Osimhen would be a great signing for Martinelli, from his attitude on the training pitch to his overall personality and mentality, there is one that overrides all others: his output.

Yes, the fact that the Nigerian international is such an accomplished striker is the primary reason he'd be an incredible teammate for the young Brazilian, as he could help his assists number explode next season.

For example, even though last year was a bit of a down campaign compared to the one previous, the former LOSC Lille marksman still racked up an impressive 17 goals and four assists in just 32 appearances, equating to a goal involvement on average every 1.52 games.

By comparison, Arsenal's main strikers, Gabriel Jesus and Kai Havertz, fell short with 16 and 21 goal involvements in 36 and 51 games, respectively. This means the Brazilian averaged one involvement every 2.25 games, and the German one every 2.42 games.

The difference is even more staggering if you compare their form from the season prior, in which the "world-class" Napoli ace, as dubbed by managerial icon José Mourinho, produced 36 goal involvements in 39 games, while Jesus managed 18 in 33, and Havertz could only reach ten in 47 appearances.

Now imagine how much more effective the Gunners' number 11 would be if he had a striker as clinical as the former Wolfsburg gem to his right; he'd almost certainly see his assist tally bloom, as even his half chances would be put in the back of the net.

Moreover, we already know, both from the eye test and via statistics, that his current teammates let him down on this front last season. According to Understat, he underperformed his expected assists in the league by 1.32.

Ultimately, while Arsenal already possess a talented set of attackers, they could reach another level with a number nine like Osimhen in the team. Not only that, but he would help get Martinelli back to his very best, if not better.