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Mikel Arteta continued a tactical tweak against Crystal Palace, and it left one club legend surprised.
The Gunners ended a three-game losing streak by thumping Roy Hodgson’s side 5-0 at the Emirates in a much-needed return to form.
Arsenal returned to form against Palace, but one benched star surprised Ian WrightCredit: GettyLast time out Arsenal were beaten 2-0 against Liverpool in the FA Cup, and Arteta decided to bench the out-of-form Gabriel Martinelli in favour of Reiss Nelson.
That didn’t work out at Anfield with Nelson squandering an early chance, but against Palace it seemed to pay off.
This time it was Leandro Trossard deputising for the Brazilian, and he put the game to bed in the 59th minute by making the scoreline 3-0.
Shortly after he made way for Martinelli, who then scored twice in stoppage time.
Gunners legend Ian Wright wasn’t shocked to see the Brazilian score, instead he was taken off guard by the decision not to start him.
“When you get someone like Gabriel Martinelli in that much space, the line was so high, I was very surprised he didn’t start,” Wright said.
“I’m quite pleased he came on and made the impact he did. [His first goal is] a very good finish. Very accurate. Brilliant, superb.
“[With the second] Palace are all over the place, the midfield is nowhere near it, look at how much space he has got.
Martinelli's quick-fire double showed Arteta what he may have been missingCredit: Getty“Can he finish? Yeah, he can. You’ve got to take advantage when teams are playing poorly like Palace were. You can really punish these teams.”
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