Arteta’s harsh handling of the situation has seemingly not gone down well in the Emirates dressing room. According to ESPN, the manager’s cut-throat approach has caused “some discomfort” among the Arsenal squad, with several team-mates feeling highly sympathetic towards the departing winger.
The underlying tension escalated rapidly when Martinelli was excluded from the Community Shield victory over Manchester City, meaning he did not receive a winners’ medal. The same report claims that this specific decision left the forward “greatly disappointed”, while other senior squad members were also deeply unhappy with his outright omission.