Arsenal legend Charlie Nicholas believes Gabriel Martinelli has the potential to reach the heights of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. The teenager was an unknown when he joined the Gunners from Brazilian fourth tier side Ituano last summer but he has made a huge impression with 10 goals and two assists across all competitions.

He has not been overly impressive with the distribution but has shown the quality in the final third with his strong finishing abilities. Speaking on Sky Sports, Nicholas looked into the future of the club and believes Martinelli and Eddie Nketiah are capable of leading the attack in the long-run, he told:“Eddie Nketiah runs off the ball into space, and is a very good finisher. Martinelli does have the potential too. The signs with him are pretty similar. He is young, but that does not matter. If people look at how he finishes, you can see a cool and clinical aspect. Jurgen Klopp was raving about him for a reason. He is ruthless. The potential is there, but will not reach Aubameyang’s level yet.”

Aubameyang’s future with the Gunners remains in doubt beyond the current campaign, considering he has only 14 months remaining on his contract. So far, he has shown no indication of putting pen-to-paper on a fresh deal and it appears likely that the club would sanction his departure during the summer where they have the best chance to command a sizeable transfer fee.

Meanwhile, his teammate Alexandre Lacazette has also been fancied to head through the exit door, having struggled for starts under Mikel Arteta before the coronavirus shutdown. The Frenchman was initially a regular starter under the Spaniard but before the league’s suspension, he found himself out-of-favour with Eddie Nketiah regularly favoured for the centre-forward role in the league. There are reports suggesting that Ryan Fraser and Luka Jovic could replace the duo at the Emirates.