Arsenal icon calls out supporters and hints at Mikel Arteta transfer mistake

· Mirror

Gabriel Martinelli's seven-year spell with Arsenal ended this summer when he moved to Saudi Arabia and a former player was left frustrated by the treatment of the player

Freddie Ljungberg has called out Arsenal's fans for "forgetting what Gabriel Martinelli did for the club" after he was sold in the summer.

The Brazilian arrived at the Emirates in 2019, back when Unai Emery was in charge, as an unknown quantity. He impressed when given opportunities before eventually making himself a regular in an Arsenal side that begun challenging for the Premier League title.

He owned the spot on the left wing when Mikel Arteta's side first became a force, scoring 15 times in his most productive season, but he gradually fell down the pecking order as the Gunners continued to invest in more forward talent.

Last season he came up with just the one goal and was named amongst the subs for the club’s last six matches of the campaign, which suggested the end was nearing to his seven-year spell. A £60million move to Al-Hilal has since taken place, but Ljungberg was disappointed to see how he was treated.

The Swede said on Viaplay: "A Brazilian football player, he works that hard, the age he has and numbers and stuff, that’s not a cheap football player. And they sold him for quite a lot of money so I was a little bit [surprised] when people really wanted him out and fans wanted him out.

"I was a bit like, 'That’s a good player that you just want out', but that’s what everybody felt that they seemed to be wanting and they got rid of him. They got good money for him. Sometimes the fans forget, maybe, how much he has done for this club, how many important goals he scored during the years."

Less than two years ago and Martinelli was scoring the winner to down Real Madrid at the Bernabeu, but has since been overtaken in the pecking order with Christos Tzolis joining this summer and establishing himself on the left.

Arteta had previously been adamant that Martinelli, and his compatriot Gabriel Jesus, were going to be important figures at the Emirates, despite leaving them out of the matchday squad that won the Community Shield.

Since those comments Jesus has joined Barcelona and Martinelli has headed to the Middle East, the latter seeing Arsenal secure a record fee for the sale of a player.

Martinelli left Arsenal having scored 62 times in 278 games for the Gunners.

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