The squad of players Mikel Arteta selected for Arsenal's Community Shield victory on Sunday was very intriguing.

While it included new signings Bruno Guimaraes and Christos Tzolis, it did not include some of the club's key players from their Premier League title triumph.

William Saliba and Jurrien Timber were both absent through injury but more eye-brow raising was the exclusion of Ethan Nwaneri, Gabriel Jesus and Gabriel Martinelli.

For Martinelli, in particular, it would have been a gutting blow on the eve of the new season to miss out on the squad.

Martinelli entered Arsenal a boy. He looks set to leave as a man. For the talented Brazilian, throughout his senior career, N5 is all he has known.

When he arrived, he did so as a baby faced kid, a teenager with broken English and a certain shyness to his personality. Now, aged 25, the winger is a livelier character. He's one of the most-liked players in the squad.

Unfortuantely for him, it looks as though his race is run in Arsenal colours.

The Gunners have already shipped on Leandro Trossard and it feels like the remaining part of their summer rebuild is to sell Martinelli before signing an upgrade.

It should come as no surprise really. Last term, as good as forward was in the cup competitions - scoring ten times - he only netted once in the Premier League.

Arteta didn't get nearly enough from the Brazil international and replacing him and/or Trossard was imperative this summer. That being said, for him to be excluded from the Community Shield squad felt harsh.

After all, this is a player who has given blood, sweat and tears to the manager's project ever since he arrived. He has playwd 278 times for Arsenal, scoring 62 goals. Sure, he has been inconsistent, but not many have dedicated more to Arsenal's bid to become champions of England again.

If he has already played his last game for the club then he deserved a send off on Sunday in front of the fans, lifting one last trophy in Arsenal red.

Alas, this was a telling sign for Martinelli. He has rejected a move to Galatasaray but he may well have to leave the comforts of north London behind for regular first-team opportunities. If he sticks around this term, his chances of much action looks slim.

Ahead of him on Sunday, Tzolis, Noni Madueke, Max Dowman, Bukayo Saka and Eberechi Eze were all picked. It does not bode well.

How Arsenal can replace Martinelli

Coming into the summer, bolstering the forward line was Arteta and Andrea Berta's biggest priority.

The aforementioned Tzolis has been signed but they will be gutted to have missed out on both Vinicius Junior and Morgan Rogers. However, other irons are in the fire and they could return to the table to sign an almighty Martinelli upgrade in the form of PSG superstar Bradley Barcola.

The Frenchman is the subject of interest from Liverpool who have already held talks with the Paris club over a potential move this summer. The trouble is that it may cost around £111m to prise him away from Ligue 1 according to new reports in France.

Considering Arsenal were not willing to break their transfer record to sign Rogers, their number one target at the start of the summer, it is extremely unlikely they will pay such a fee for Barcola. Yet, according to Arsenal insider AFCAMDEN, the winger "would prefer a move to Arsenal and London over Liverpool."

In truth, who wouldn't? The Gunners are the Premier League champions and they ran Barcola and his colleagues very close in the Champions League final back in May.

This would be a cracking signing. Regarded as one of the best and most exciting wingers in the world right now, the 23-year-old is streets ahead of Martinelli, notably scoring 21 goals and assisting 18 in the 2024/25 season. While he bagged 13 times and assisted six last term, he was still way clear of the Brazilian.

When it comes to every important metric for a wide player, Barcola simply dominates Martinelli. They are dead level for successful dribbles but the former ends up completing more of his progressive carries.

In general, he's a livelier presence in the final third. He's immense with regards to taking players on, while he's far more threatening when it comes to creating goalscoring chances too. His expected threat in the build up phases of play is much higher.

Martinelli comes out on top for his defensive work rate and to his credit, that is one of the reasons Arteta has picked him so regularly.

If Barcola does sign, then he will need to improve in that department but Arsenal are so solid at the back anyway that it is unlikely to matter too much. The difference he could make in attack would far outweigh he can do inside his own half.