Martinelli was subbed out of Arsenal's match against Aston Villa on Saturday, with his replacement, Leandro Trossard, having an instant impact by scoring the game-winning goal with his first touch.

Trossard's influence was lauded by manager Mikel Arteta, who admitted that he now has a selection "headache" heading into next weekend's match against Brighton.

However, Lauren believes Martinelli's abilities are still valuable to the Premier League title hopefuls. Lauren, who was part of Arsenal's "Invincibles" that went undefeated in 2003-04, notes the Brazilian's speed going forward as a weapon that cannot be overlooked, especially against some of the bigger teams in the league. 

“He’s a player, when you play away from home, against opponents who isolate you in your own half, you need Martinelli in order to go on quick transitions going forward," Lauren told BonusCodeBets.co.uk. 

"We’ve seen that many times, against Liverpool, against West Ham, against Chelsea. We’ve seen many instances of Martinelli scoring in transition.”

As for Trossard continuing to knock on the door, Lauren noted that during the 2023-24 campaign Martinelli ceded his spot to the Belgian but the competition between the two benefitted the entire team. 

“I don’t think he had a bad season," Lauren said. "Just in the middle and end of the season, Trossard was in better shape, scoring goals, moving between lines, connecting with [Martin] Ødegaard and Declan Rice. Getting in position and scoring goals.

"This is what you need – competitiveness among the squad. Martinelli and Trossard have raised the level of the team and I have no doubt that they’ll continue to do so."

Live on DAZN: Diego Pacheco vs. Maciej Sulecki on August 31. Click here for details.