Lord knows I’ve defended Martinelli enough on here and you can make numerous reasonable justifications as to why that sequence of attack panned out the way it did, but here’s the thing, the difference between the best attackers and those tiers below is that they’re able to do things that defy the situation or maximise the positions they find themselves in, through an exceptional pass, dribble or an action which completely changes the angle of attack and produces an unexpected outcome.
That’s ultimately Martinelli’s failings is that he’s not that player and we’ve seen enough of him now to know he will never be that player, so whilst he’s a good player we need to try something new. The best players like Saka dominate opponents and scenarios by imposing their skill on them, while Martinelli is all too often dominated by the scenario or defenders.
