Gabriel Martinelli fails his audition as search begins for Bukayo Saka’s heir | Nick Ames
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Arsenal do enough to beat Ipswich but are no closer to solving the problem of their star attacker’s injury absence. In the north London mist, Arsenal came no closer to stumbling upon a temporary heir to their starboy. This was ultimately an exercise in doing the necessary, making sure realistic hope of a title challenge extended towards the season’s second half and overcoming a well-coached but impotent Ipswich. Yet if the hope had been that it would offer a window into a prolonged run without Bukayo Saka, the wait for answers will now drift into early 2025.
![[Former England teammates Declan Rice and Kalvin Phillips enjoyed a rare battle against each other.]](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/bfe402704cd2ce9b89f9ec9f28db7994b422ccdc/0_0_4986_3463/master/4986.jpg?width=445&dpr=1&s=none&crop=none)
The pre-match hype had centred on Gabriel Martinelli, moved across from his usual left-sided perch upon Saka’s injury at Selhurst Park and quickly settling down with a goal in that thrashing. Martinelli is an explosive yet mercurial talent; the darkest fears during his more barren stretches concern whether, at 23, his ceiling may not be far off. But here was a chance to prove he could be the man to deputise over a longer stretch: at least two months, as Mikel Arteta explained afterwards. On the face of things, Ipswich were ideal fodder against whom to state the case.
Kieran McKenna’s side had been ripped apart by Newcastle on Saturday, their first genuine humbling of an otherwise competitive first season back among the elite, and their openness down the flanks would not have escaped Arteta. Their left-back, Leif Davis, tends to adopt a starting position so aggressive that opponents are granted a gaping hole to exploit when things go awry. Any missteps would surely bring joy for Martinelli, who lacks Saka’s subtleties but knows how to sear a trail into those spaces, and point a way forward for Arsenal’s rebalanced attack.
