‘In his eyes I could see that he was ready’ – Mikel Areta hails sensational impact of Arsenal supersub

‘In his eyes I could see that he was ready’ – Mikel Areta hails sensational impact of Arsenal supersub

Arsenal's Gabriel Martinelli celebrates scoring their first goal

Mikel Arteta said he could see in Gabriel Martinelli’s eyes he was ready to fire Arsenal to victory before he struck 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