Mikel Arteta said he could see in Gabriel Martinelli’s eyes he was ready to fire Arsenal to victory following his opening goal 36 seconds after coming on as a substitute.
Martinelli sent Arsenal on their way to a 2-0 victory in their Champions League opener against Athletic Bilbao before fellow sub Leandro Trossard put the gloss on a fine European evening for Arteta’s men.
Martinelli has been demoted to the bench following the arrivals of Noni Madueke and Eberechi Eze, with the summer signings starting either side of Viktor Gyokeres for a second consecutive match here.
But Martinelli, who replaced Eze, provided a timely reminder of his worth when he struck with 18 minutes to go. He then turned provider for Trossard who added a second for the visitors with three minutes left.
“I know how much these players want to play this competition and what it means to them, and every time you name the line-up, you are disappointing a lot of players,” said Arteta.
“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.
“But to have that experience, I looked on the bench, I looked at him (Martinelli), and in his eyes I could see that he was ready, Leo as well.
“I was sure that he (Martinelli) was going to react like that. He has such a mentality. He’s a player that is constantly willing to learn and he proved himself. He is very demanding 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, and I am so happy he decided the game with his two actions.”
From an attacking perspective, Arsenal were without Martin Odegaard, Bukayo Saka, Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus for their trip to the San Mames Stadium – but the club’s £250million spending spree has helped fill the injury problems which derailed their challenge last season.
And after calling on the old guard to complete the job in Spain, Arteta added: “The finishers made an impact to win the game.
“The finishers are going to be more important this season, sometimes than the starters. The quality of those minutes is going to dictate the quality of our season, for sure.
“I have to make decisions, and I have to make decisions based on increasing the probability of winning football matches, and they know that’s the only reason why I make certain decisions. Sometimes right, and sometimes they are wrong.”
Arsenal fell at the semi-final stage last season but this was a convincing opening salvo in their bid to win the Champions League for the first time.
The Gunners became the first side in the history of the tournament to win six consecutive matches against Spanish opposition.
Arsenal, who are yet to concede from open play this season, are back in action on Sunday when they host Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City.
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