Although it is safe to say that both Arsenal and Manchester United are currently struggling teams considering their size and history as clubs, both sets of fans have turned their hopes to their respective unlikely stars of the 2019/20 campaign. With Greenwood coming through the ranks at Carrington, Martinelli joined the Gunners straight from fourth division Brazilian side Ituano FC and both have had significant impact on their respective first teams, contributing goals and assists when called upon. Which youngster both is better and will be better are highly debated topics right now, and here are my thoughts.
Style of Play
Following a summer transfer fee of just £5.6 million, Gabriel Martinelli has operated at mainly as a left-winger, however the Brazilian can also do a job both at striker and on the right. He has lightning pace and an admirable work rate, constantly hunting the ball down and putting tackles in for his teammates. This makes him the perfect player for a team under Mikel Arteta, who (from what we have seen so far) are set up to force their opponents into mistakes through a high, dominant press similar to that of Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool side. The German manager even praised Martinelli, calling him a "talent of the century". This style of play fits extremely well with the future of football in my opinion, with many clubs also taking a similar approach (for example Wolves) and so this gives me immense hope for the future of the Arsenal teenager.
Mason Greenwood, on the other hand, is more of an out and out striker - a pinpoint finisher with great spacial awareness and ability to make runs in behind the defence. Though left footed, he appears comfortable using his right which is very useful for any footballer, and especially a striker as it gives him the ability and freedom to deceive defenders either way to open up a shooting opportunity. Having come through the ranks at United's youth academy, the player didn't cost the club any money to sign on, as compared to the fee of Martinelli.
Statistics
Gabriel Martinelli (all competitions) : 10 goals, 2 assists, 22 appearances.
Mason Greenwood (all competitions) : 9 goals, 2 assists, 28 appearances.
These stats show that, though both contribute in an almost equal amount of each so far this season, the Arsenal man's contributions per appearance are significantly higher, with more goals and equal assists in 6 less games. Of course, Greenwood has made a lot of these appearances off the bench, but so has Martinelli, and it is what you do in the little time that you are given as a young football to show off your talent that really counts.
Impact on Team
So far this season, Greenwood and Martinelli have made the majority of their appearances in the league coming from the bench, however both have proven their worth of starting games. To me, Martinelli slightly more - Greenwood seems most useful for United right now when they need a goal, and he is great at coming off of the bench and making impact by finishing chances that first team players might have missed. However, I feel this is where his best performances come, whereas I have been most impressed with Martinelli when he had started league games, with 3 goals in his 3 starts against West Ham United, Sheffield United and Chelsea. He brings not only great physical awareness and goals to the pitch, but also impressive passing and intelligent runs to help the team build play forward. I feel Martinelli does more on both ends of the pitch, tackling players and doing the dirty work for an Arsenal side with a somewhat vulnerable defence.
Overall
At the end of the day, I feel very confident in saying that both players are incredible talents with very bright futures at their respective clubs and potentially beyond ; both have their own strengths against one another, however when it comes to overall ability and their whole game, Martinelli tops the comparison for me. With deadly finishing, lightning pace, tricky dribbling and very promising acceptance of defensive responsibility too, he appears to have the bugger overall impact on his side, as well as better statistics in far fewer games, I believe he is the better Premier League youngster.
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