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\t<\/div>Mikel Arteta has been urged to drop Gabriel Martinelli and give Max Dowman more starts after Arsenal\u2019s disappointing 2-1 loss to Bournemouth.<\/p>\n
Martinelli was returned to the starting lineup on Saturday after his impressive midweek cameo, which saw him set up Kai Havertz\u2019s winner against Sporting CP.<\/p>\n
But the Brazilian endured a forgettable afternoon in north London, touching the ball just seven times in the first half before being replaced by Leandro Trossard shortly after the break.<\/p>\n
Arsenal\u2019s substitutes, which also included Dowman and Eberechi Eze, did little to wrestle back momentum for Mikel Arteta\u2019s side, and Alex Scott\u2019s strike ultimately condemned the Gunners to their third defeat in four matches in all competitions.<\/p>\n
After the game, former Premier League striker Jay Bothroyd questioned why Arteta opted to start Martinelli given his indifferent form for large swathes of this season.<\/p>\n
Speaking to Sky Sports, he said: \u2018When I looked at that starting team today, I was thinking to myself, \u2018okay, Martinelli made an assist during the week. It was a great assist. But he hasn\u2019t been good enough this year.\u2019<\/p>\n
Instead of Martinelli, Bothroyd urged Arteta to give more starts to 16-year-old Dowman to help Arsenal rediscover their attacking spark and get over the line in the league.<\/p>\n \u2018As far as I\u2019m concerned, Max Dowman needs to start,\u2019 he added. \u2018I don\u2019t care no more. Arsenal need to go over the line. <\/p>\n \u2018That kid, when he plays, he\u2019s fearless. He wants to ball. He goes at players. He might lose it, but he goes at them.\u2019<\/p>\n Bothroyd also criticised Arsenal striker Viktor Gyokeres for post-match comments in which he suggested that a \u2018dry pitch\u2019 had affected Arsenal\u2019s performance.<\/p>\n \u2018Listen, to me, that\u2019s just silliness,\u2019 Bothroyd added. \u2018I was at the game, I saw the pitch. The pitch looked perfect to me. <\/p>\n \u2018The sprinklers were on before the game. They were on at half-time. Both teams actually play on that same pitch. I don\u2019t know if you know that.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u2018Both teams play on it, and Bournemouth took the opportunities when they came. I hear what he\u2019s saying when he talks about being positive going forward, because I think in this situation, you kind of have to look at that, but at the same time, you really need to analyse what happened today because it was really poor.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u2018I think the xG (expected goals) was 0.19 in open play at home. That is just not good enough for a team of the calibre of players that Arsenal have. It\u2019s just way off. It\u2019s just not good enough.<\/p>\n \u2018Too many times they get into a position where they are just knocking the ball around the pitch.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u2018Raya is literally touching the ball. He has the ball at his feet, probably more than any other player on the pitch. And obviously, you\u2019re 80 yards from goal. I don\u2019t get that.\u2019<\/p>\n For more stories like this,\u00a0check our sport page<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Follow Metro Sport for the latest news on ![\"Arsenal](\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/GettyImages-2270859946.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=594\")
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