Atlanta United: Pity Martinez strike a sign of things to come?

Gonzalo Martinez finally got his first Atlanta United goal with a brilliant, sweeping strike against Orlando City on Sunday. Is his first goal simply a moment of fire or the true start of his life in MLS? MLS Multiplex takes a look.

It’s been a long time coming: Gonzalo Martinez has averaged 2.9 shots per 90 minutes in Major League Soccer so far this season. Until now, he hadn’t managed a single goal.

But is his winning strike in Atlanta United’s 1-0 victory over Orlando City the straw that finally breaks the camel’s back or simply a moment of fire from a player who is going to produce the odd piece of brilliance interspersed between periods of anonymity?

To answer this question, you first need to remove the looming shadow of Miguel Almiron and forget any notion of Martinez being the Paraguayan’s replacement. The two are completely different players and to expect them to produce the same sorts of performances is simply unfair.

Regardless of that, though, it’s obvious Atlanta have needed something to replace everything ‘Miggy’ brought to the table last year. The reason Almiron has slotted in so well at Newcastle United is down to his relentless work rate off the ball and willingness to contribute defensively — both qualities held in high regard by Rafael Benitez.

Martinez is not that type of player. His game is all about playing without shackles, not having that defensive responsibility so he can concentrate on finding spaces no other player can. His goal against Orlando is a perfect showcase of that: Atlanta moved the ball from the back and played it quickly into Martinez, who was waiting in what appeared to be an ocean of space in front of the opposition defence. Could he do this if he has nagging defensive chores to think about? Doubtful.

After the match, Martinez conceded that the goal helped his mental state:

"“The goal was necessary for me for my confidence. I had the confidence of my teammates that it was going to come at some point, and today it came and the team can keep winning.”"

So, that was the good side of Martinez on show, and slowly but surely, Frank de Boer’s message seems to be seeping in. Pity and his compatriot, Ezequiel Barco, have grown in stature game by game. But the issue for most Atlanta fans is that aside from his goal and the odd screamer slamming into the crossbar, how else has Martinez influenced games?

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So far this season, no Atlanta player has had more unsuccessful touches of the ball (26) than Martinez, while only Eric Remedi (18) and Josef Martinez (15) have been dispossessed more times than him (14). To say he’s a tad lightweight would be an understatement.

It’s also been well stated that Martinez is yet to provide his first assist for Atlanta United, but as we all know, the assist stat can be quite flawed in itself. A quick look at his expected assists (xA), which is the number of assists he would be expected to have given the quality and quantity of chances that he has created for his teammates, has him at 2.0 — only Julian Gressel has more (2.1). The players he is providing chances for aren’t taking them as they should be.

Combine this with the fact that no Atlanta United player has created more chances than Martinez, even though he only has the 11th-most MLS minutes under his belt (613) in the Five Stripes’ squad and all of a sudden, you can see the 25-year-old is indeed doing exactly what he was signed for: creating chances and giving Atlanta that unpredictable edge.

Martinez even followed up his debut goal by winning the penalty converted by Josef Martinez during Atlanta’s next game, a 1-0 win against Vancouver Whitecaps. Did the Argentina international put in a vintage performance? No. Nobody did in what turned out to be a scrappy contest. But his moment of individual quality gave the Five Stripes the chance to get ahead — if that isn’t what you want from a $17m signing, then what is? Hell, had Maxime Crepeau not been in ridiculous form in net, he’d have added an assist for Hector Villalba or a goal of his own in Canada.

Sure, at times this season it has appeared as if Atlanta have been playing to a hymn sheet while Martinez has been handing out lyrics for the Garden of Eden (sorry for the awful Simpsons reference). But just like any well-oiled band or orchestra, you need time, practice and patience.

With each game that passes by, Martinez has looked more like the player who scooped South America’s Player of the Year award last season. His goal against Orlando was the match-winning moment he has deserved and worked incredibly hard for and one which could endear him to the Atlanta fanbase.

With Barco missing through international duty, his timing couldn’t be more perfect. Now is the time for Gonzalo ‘Pity’ Martinez to become the man for Atlanta.