The first half of that season wasn't great, but it wasn't terrible either. Martial was still instrumental in holding up our attack. We played a lot of counter attacking football and he was a big reason why it was effective since he could actually hold onto the ball and use it smartly the few times we got it. He was key for us winning against City sometime in November or December, and that was a huge result that lifted the entire team as we headed into the second half of the season. By the time Bruno came, the team was already on the up confidence wise and he was a huge boost for sure, but certainly wasn't the standout performer in its entirety. It was our deadly attacking unit that had been picking up steam the whole season that Bruno helped to catch fire, the narrative of him picking up a team dead in the water is simply false.
Martial is the one striker we've had post SAF that was actually conducive to either counter attacking or possession football, he had it all in his locker: hold up, technique and goals. I will certainly miss him a lot.