Awaiting Martinelli's Magic For Arsenal

Gabriel Martinelli (Twitter @arsenalfcalwys)

JAKARTA - Arsenal are in a slump. Unai Emery's team are fasting for victories in the last four matches. However, there may be a light at the end of the tunnel for the Gunners who face Southampton on Saturday. The light resided within the young striker Gabriel Martinelli.

If there is one positive thing that has come from Arsenal's season so far, it is Emery who has given the Gunners young players a chance to play. And there is one player who really stands out.

Before breaking their transfer record to sign Nicolas Pepe or signing David Luiz in an attempt to strengthen their back line, Arsenal brought in a young boy named Martinelli from Brazilian club Ituano.

Martinelli didn't waste much time showing Arsenal fans what was in his 'locker'. He scored twice on his full debut as the Gunners beat Nottingham Forest 5-0 in the EFL Cup on 24 September.

Nine days later, Martinelli followed up his brace against Forest with a 4-0 home win over Standard Liege during his first Europa League outing.

Not only that, the 18-year-old scored twice again in a thrilling match against Liverpool (5-5) in the League Cup last October before scoring a header against Vitoria Guimaraes in the Europa League.

In total, so far Martinelli has contributed seven goals from nine appearances in all competitions. Unfortunately, he still has to wait for his debut party in the Premier League.

If Emery wants a change, both in terms of play and the end result, this is the time for the Spanish coach to give Martinelli the opportunity to show his magic. Yes, the age of the coach at Arsenal is on the line.