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Arsenal’s £16.2m-rated diamond in the rough sparkled against West Ham – opinion

For the first time since 2011, against Chelsea, Arsenal overturned a half time deficit in an away fixture to come out as winners, in a 3-1 victory over West Ham.

Though the majority of the performance was underwhelming against the Hammers, there was one Gunners player whose display stood out in particular and he got his just rewards. Gabriel Martinelli was making his first Premier League start, and he sent a message to some of his underperforming teammates that he is hot on their heels.

At 18 years old the Brazilian became the youngest player to score for Arsenal on their first league start when his strike on the hour mark ignited the comeback, making him the fourth-youngest scorer for Arsenal in the Premier League, behind Cesc Fabregas, Serge Gnabry and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.

Yet his performance was about much more than just the goal, the striker consistently pestered the opposition defence, making three tackles, the highest number in an Arsenal shirt, leading to his manager describing the youngster as “like a Duracell battery, he keeps going”.

Martinelli, valued at £16.2m (Transfermarkt), even managed to track back far enough to block shots in a performance that was reminiscent of Premier League greats such as Carlos Tevez and Wayne Rooney. Though he had the fewest number of passes of any Gunners player who lasted the full 90 minutes, the striker still managed to find a key pass, showing there is a creative influence to his game, but at this raw stage in his career he needs further time to cultivate it.

However, there can be no doubts the Brazilian has an eye for goal, and there are few better tutors to hone that skill than Monday evenings strike partner Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang. Martinelli had just one fewer shot than the significantly more experienced member of the duo, but both produced the same number on target. Furthermore, Martinelli was fouled twice as often as his Gabonese counterpart, highlighting he was a threat West Ham struggled to contain.

Arsenal may be a turbulent club at the moment, still transitioning from the Arsene Wenger days, but they have a starlet in their ranks, the sort of talent their former manager thrived on discovering.

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