By Phil Haigh

Copyright metro

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has tough decisions to make as his squad has grown (Picture: Getty Images)

Mikel Arteta was thrilled to see Gabriel Martinelli score for Arsenal against Athletic Club, a player he ‘adores’ and who he feels pained to leave out of the side.

The Gunners won 2-0 in Bilbao on Tuesday night as they got their Champions League campaign off to a good start.

There was little between the sides and not much goalmouth action in the first half, but things sparked into life late in the game thanks to Arsenal’s substitutes.

Leandro Trossard stepped up from the bench on 65 minutes, followed by Martinelli six minutes later and the pair made a serious impact.

Martinelli scored less than a minute after coming on, put through by Trossard, before the Brazilian repaid the favour for the Belgian to double the lead.

Such was his impact in a matter of minutes that Martinelli was awarded Player of the Match at the San Mames.

He may have left the forward out of his starting XI, but Arteta could hardly praise Martinelli any more passionately after he inspired the victory in Spain.

Gabriel Martinelli has more competition for his place this season (Picture: Getty Images)

‘Fully deserved it. I adore Gabriel,’ said Arteta. ‘His attitude, his commitment, his positivity, what he’s willing to do for the team.

‘As a family, we certainly value all the qualities that he has, and he brings to the team.’

Asked if he felt Martinelli was proving a point after being left out of the side as Eberechi Eze started on the left wing, Arteta said he expected a positive reaction.

‘I was sure that Gabby was going to react like that,’ said the Spaniard. ‘You raise the level to Gabby and he was going to do that.

Martinelli made the most of his cameo in Bilbao (Picture: Getty Images)

‘He has such a mentality. He’s a player that is constantly willing to learn and he broke himself, buried the money with himself. And that’s the moment that hopefully is going to give him the confidence again to go, because he’s an outstanding player.’

The Gunners showed the strength in depth that they now possess as Martinelli and Trossard were able to make such an impact off the bench.

Cristhian Mosquera also continued to impress at centre-back, despite William Saliba returning from injury, while Noni Madueke looked threatening on the right as he stands in for Bukayo Saka.

Instant impact!Martinelli gives Arsenal the lead 36 seconds after coming off the bench against Athletic Club ⚡️ pic.twitter.com/ViyE1nLSbK— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) September 16, 2025

Arteta will have some tough decisions to make when Arsenal host Manchester City on Sunday, choices which he says are emotional and hurt him to make.

‘It’s always very difficult emotionally to leave players out,’ he said. ‘I know how much they want to play this competition and what it means to them, and every time you’re in the line-up, you are disappointing a lot of players.

‘They know how I feel about them, so they know that when I have to leave a player on the bench or out of the squad, it hurts me. And starting from there, the only thing I can do is my job.

‘I have to make decisions, and I have to make decisions based on increasing the probability of winning football matches, and they know that that’s the only reason why I’m going to make certain decisions. Sometimes right, sometimes wrong, and they have to stay like that.’