Gabriel Martinelli has struggled to carve out a place in Mikel Arteta's Arsenal side, but a lively Europa League cameo against Slavia Prague added to the demands for him to be promoted to the starting line-up.
Mikel Arteta made six changes as Slavia Prague arrived in the Europa League following Arsenal's humiliation at home to Liverpool last weekend.
Gabriel Martinelli was not among them, much to the chagrin of many Arsenal fans.
Martinelli has been on the fringe of Mikel Arteta's plans after missing the end of last season and the start of this one due to a knee injury.
In all competitions, he has only made three appearances, the most recent of which came in January against Southampton in the FA Cup fourth round.
'I'm going to launch a campaign to get Martinelli in the squad!" said disappointed Arsenal legend Martin Keown ahead of their Europa League match.
Last week, he spoke about Martinelli's "perplexing" absence, adding his voice to the chorus of Arsenal fans who want to see more of the youngster.
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After seeing Bukayo Saka and Emile Smith Rowe emerge as bright spots in an otherwise bleak campaign, Keown and many others believe Arteta is passing up a chance for another youngster to shine.
In the Daily Mail, Keown said, "It's puzzling that we don't see more of the 19-year-old.'
'Towards the end of the season at West Ham, he was eventually given some minutes, injecting another injection of youthful exuberance on the left-wing.
He's just too fine to be an afterthought. If given the opportunity, he has the potential to come into the squad and have a similar effect on Arsenal's season as Smith Rowe.'
Martinelli's introduction against Slavia Prague brought a burst of speed and energy to the Gunners' attack, allowing them to pile on the pressure before breaking the deadlock late in the game.
Their disappointment stemmed from the fact that they had not scored further goals until the visitors grabbed a late equalizer.
Martinelli's appearance was yet another indication of why fans are baffled as to why they haven't seen more of the Brazilian, who rose to prominence last season after being plucked from relative obscurity at Ituano.
In fact, it appears that Arteta still hasn't fully trusted Martinelli as a player he can count on in crunch time.
They've had disagreements in the past about his job.
Arteta described his vision for Martinelli as a center-forward shortly after taking over in March.
'[Aubameyang and Martinelli] are center-forwards, but with the squad balance we have now, we don't have five players to play in those positions on the left,' the Spaniard explained.
However, Martinelli recently admitted in an interview with the famous Brazilian YouTube channel Bolivia Talk Show that he sees his best position as being out big.
'I like to play open and very centrally, but I prefer to start wide,' Martinelli said.
Despite his disagreement with Arteta, he mentioned that he is willing to play if he can assist the team in achieving success.
Martinelli continued, "But my choice is always to play, center-half, full-back, goalkeeper, I just want to play."
His attitude is reflected in the energy he brings to his game, and Arteta has praised him in the press.
But, for whatever reason, the youngster, like Arsenal fans, will have to wait until he is regularly unleashed.
With his cameo on Thursday night, Martinelli did no harm to Keown's campaign.
Now it's up to Arteta to make sure Martinelli's release isn't put off any longer.
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