Teen has Gunners in 'palm of hands'

LONDON • Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang completes his three-game ban today, but Arsenal have not missed their top scorer as much as pundits had assumed.

The Gunners visit Bournemouth for their FA Cup fourth-round tie and, while it is just two wins in seven matches in all competitions since Mikel Arteta took over last month, he has insisted there are "very good signs in progress".

Part of the Arsenal manager's optimism stems from the way Gabriel Martinelli has flourished under the Emirates spotlight.

The Brazilian striker was the least heralded of their summer signings, having arrived as a relative unknown for a mere £6 million (S$10.6 million) from Ituano.

However, he has performed beyond expectations despite a trying season for Arsenal, becoming the second teenager to grab 10+ goals for the club since Nicolas Anelka did so 21 years ago.

With Martinelli having scored in his past two games, Arteta has backed him to continue his hot streak against the Cherries.

Ahead of their trip to Dean Court, the Arsenal manager, who is also missing David Luiz through suspension, said: "I heard a lot of things about Gabi before I joined, but the moment I saw him training, I confirmed all the things I was told.

"What had I heard before? All positives, 'You will see this kid, how he goes about every ball, his fighting spirit and he's got the quality. Every time in front of goal, he's a threat.'

"They said you'll be surprised how prepared he is to compete with any other player in the squad. I always thought yeah, OK, but he's 18.

"When you see in big games how he goes about everything, it's surprising. The way he competes and how brave he is in every decision he makes in the pitch is very unusual for an 18-year-old."

Still, Arteta was quick to caution against overburdening Martinelli, whom pundit Martin Keown feels "has the club in the palm of his hands".

"I would like to talk about potential more than what it is at the moment," the Spaniard insisted. "For him, it's still a long way to do that every three days.

"Compared with other teams and the stature of this club, to give him the key to do that is not fair on him. We have to bring him down.

"I want him to train with his head down every day, hard and slowly, he'll start to earn the things if he does what he needs to do every day."

Victory would be a fillip for the visitors going into the mid-season break - after today, Arsenal next play Newcastle on Feb 16 - and by then, they should also be boosted by a much-needed defensive reinforcement in Pablo Mari.

According to widespread media reports, the Spanish centre-back is close to finalising his loan move from Brazilian side Flamengo with an option to buy.

The 26-year-old was spotted with Edu, the club's technical director, at Heathrow Airport over the weekend, and he looks set to be Arteta's first signing ahead of the transfer window closing on Friday.

Asked if he was excited to sign for the Gunners, Mari, who was on Manchester City's books for three years until last summer but never played a game for them, responded: "Yes, of course."

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