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Ahead of Bukayo Saka, ‘brilliant’ Arsenal player now ranked as one of Europe’s best dribblers
Gabriel Martinelli has been ranked as one of Europe’s best dribblers this season – ahead of his Arsenal teammate Bukayo Saka.
That’s according to , which has compiled a list of Europe’s best dribblers under the age of 23.
Arsenal have become renowned as a brilliant attacking side over the past couple of seasons and their forwards have contributed to that massively.
Mikel Arteta gives his wingers the freedom to run at opposition defences and often isolates them against full-backs.
It’s fair to say that both Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli excel in this department. But according to the statistics alone, Martinelli has been better at dribbling than Saka this season.
Martinelli ranked as one of Europe’s best dribblers
CIES claims that Martinelli ranks as the second-best Under-23 dribbler in Europe’s top five leagues this season.
The 22-year-old ranks just behind Barcelona starlet Lamine Yamal, who tops the list.
Yet, Martinelli ranks above his Arsenal teammate Saka, as well as the likes of Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Anthony Gordon.
The data takes into account each player’s dribble success rate and their average number of dribbles per 90 minutes.
It certainly doesn’t come as a surprise to see both Martinelli and Saka featured on this list.
Both players excel in 1v1 situations and have become an integral part of the way Arteta sets his team up.
Nevertheless, it may surprise some that Martinelli ranks higher than Saka so far this season.
The ‘’ Brazil star has missed a few games through injury this season but has proved his importance to Arsenal on his return.
As for Saka, the Englishman hasn’t quite managed to find his best form so far but he’s still contributing in big moments for the Gunners.