Mikel Arteta must unleash Gabriel Jesus vs Porto with Gabriel Martinelli sidelined

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta must unleash Gabriel Jesus on the left wing during the second leg of the Champions League round of 16 against Porto tomorrow.

The Gunners are currently trailing 1-0 after the first leg at the Estadio do Dragao. They were extremely poor on the road and failed to muster a single shot on target.

Arteta will be hoping for a strong reply with home advantage. Ahead of the game, the Spaniard could be without Gabriel Martinelli after his foot issue at Sheffield United.

Martinelli suffered a cut on his left leg during the 6-0 rout and he subsequently missed the Brentford game where he was spotted leaving the Emirates on crutches.

There were no surprises that he was absent from Monday’s training session and in our opinion, Jesus should get the nod over Leandro Trossard on the left wing tomorrow.

Trossard has had a brilliant full season with the Gunners with 10 goals and two assists, but the Belgian’s limited pace on the counter attack was quite visible against the Bees.

Aaron Ramsdale provided a fantastic long ball into the Belgian’s path, but he could not evade the defence and eventually ended up losing possession at the edge of the box.

The 29-year-old has got fantastic dribbling skills to outwit defenders but he has limited top speed.

In our view, Jesus would be a better fit over him on the left flank versus Porto. He offers better pace and physicality and has been in fantastic form in the Champions League.

The Brazilian has scored four goals from just 14 attempts – a goal conversion rate of 28.5 per cent.

He has also chipped in with two assists from his five appearances. The £45 million signing would be a more like-for-like replacement for Martinelli against Porto tomorrow.

Sergio Conceicao’s side are more likely to operate with a low block, but the Gunners may get some counter-attacking situations which they will need to capitalise upon.

Stats from Sofascore.com