Martinelli scores within a minute after Arteta says he 'saw it in his eyes' as Arsenal beat Athletic Bilbao 2-0

Gabriel Martinelli scored 36 seconds after coming off the bench as Arsenal began their Champions League campaign with a 2-0 victory over Athletic Bilbao, with Leandro Trossard also influential off the bench and later on the scoresheet.

Manager Mikel Arteta said he knew Martinelli was ready to have an immediate impact from "the look in his eyes" while watching his players on the bench. Martinelli's quick intervention broke the deadlock shortly after his introduction and the pair combined again later in the match when Martinelli set up Trossard to seal the win.

Arteta praised the character and attitude of Martinelli and Trossard after the game. "I adore Gabriel. His attitude, his commitment, his positivity, what he's willing to do for the team," Arteta said. "I was sure that Gabby was going to react like that. You raise the level to Gabby and he was going to do that. He has such a mentality." He added that he saw both players' readiness while watching them on the bench and that their confidence and connection would be valuable going forward.

The victory represented a strong start to Arsenal's European campaign and highlighted the depth manager Mikel Arteta says he has at his disposal after a summer of heavy spending. Arteta noted the importance of substitutes in the team's approach, saying they can be "at least equally important or more important (than the starters)" given the intensity of Arsenal's style.

He pointed to other late-game contributions as evidence of squad strength, singling out Piero Hincapié and Christian Nørgaard for short but effective appearances. "Piero comes in and plays six minutes, the best six minutes he's played. Christian is the same, and that's the attitude that we need from all of us," Arteta said.

Martinelli has spent recent weeks competing for a starting place and had been used frequently from the bench. His rapid strike and subsequent assist underlined the manager's belief that the 22-year-old can provide decisive moments when introduced as a substitute. Trossard's involvement — both in creating Martinelli's goal and in finishing the move that wrapped up the match — provided further evidence of Arsenal's forward options.

Athletic Bilbao, who failed to register a goal, were unable to cope with Arsenal's late introductions. The result moves Arsenal to the top of their group after the opening fixtures and offers an early confidence boost ahead of the rest of the group stage.

Arteta reiterated that his summer recruitment was intended to build depth to sustain challenges across competitions. He said the impact of his substitutes in the opening European match vindicated that strategy and underlined the collective requirement for consistent attitude and readiness across the squad.