Rodrygo, Arsenal. Let’s talk about it 🔻
Rodrygo is an advanced iteration of Martinelli. Martinelli plays rushed. He does not play with the ‘pausa’ of the elites (like he has time on the ball). Martinelli focuses on things that are subconscious for Rodrygo. It gives Rodrygo splits second advantages that are decisive.
Their actual qualities are not so far removed from each other in all of the key areas for a winger, but Rodrygo’s superior control over the ball is what separates them. For example, Martinelli has to focus on his first touch and THEN gets his head up - Rodrygo does both at once.
Rodrygo is a level above because he is simply more in control. The pace, the dribbling in tight spaces, the 1v1 qualities, the ball-striking.. all quite similar. But Rodrygo is simply better at it all because he plays with more class. Martinelli is rushed, Rodrygo is in control.
It means he can assess situations better so he can use his decisive qualities more often. And because Rodrygo plays with pausa, it means he has the potential to develop into a guy that can cut inside, let the game open up for himself and dictate. That ain’t on Martinelli radar.
Don’t get me wrong, Martinelli is a complete winger profile and a top player, but he lacks the explosive speed to be elite and the pausa to be elite (only the upper echelon elites have both, not even Rodrygo has both). In their current iterations, Rodrygo is a level removed.
However, as I touched on, Rodrygo has more room to grow, and that is exciting. At Madrid he is a side-piece to Mbappé and Vinicius. Rodrygo is best on the left but he rarely plays there. When he does, he often shows glimpses of what he is capable of - being the ‘main man’.
And what I mean by that is receiving on the left wing or in the left half space and playing like a #10. Like Neymar, for example, off of that left wing - he dribbles past players, combines with others, plays decisive passes, switches play and is a player who attacks flow through.
Rodrygo is not quite at that level, but he is somewhere in between Martinelli and Neymar. And, at a club where he is not limited by the presence of two superstars who both gravitate to the left wing, this area of Rodrygo’s game will develop. Again, it can be compared to Neymar.
Neymar was a side-piece at Barcelona with Messi running the show, but at least he was in his best position and showcased his elite qualities. Here he combined his natural penetrative qualities for a winger with his ability to dictate attacks. But at PSG is where HE was Messi.
It then gave Neymar the capacity to get more touches in games and to let more attacks flow through him creatively. It can be similar for Rodrygo if he leaves Madrid. Now, again, I am not saying he is on Neymar’s creative level or that profile. He is more of a sharpshooter-type.
A guy who is a ruthless finisher, a penetrator, a goalscorer. But a goalscorer who can also dictate. That is the level Rodrygo is capable of getting to. And that is exactly what Arsenal need. He offers pausa, ruthlessness, passing, penetrative runs, pace, dribbling. Everything