Martinelli is a former futsal player for Corinthians, that was born and raised in Guarulhos, Brazil. Having football talent is not enough to turn every single football player to star, but what makes the difference is effort and commitment. Gabriel Martinelli would go down as one of the Superstars to have ever played for Arsenal.
On BBC Radio 5 on Monday, Arsenal legend, Ian Wright was engaged in a discussion about his former team in general, but it later turned to the discussion about Arsenal’s 18 years teenager, Gabriel Martinelli.
Later in the discussion, Wright revealed how the teenager had sought him out and both have been exchanging messages ever since. Nothing out of ordinary has been their discussions, it is just a legend providing advice trying to make his way in the game.
It was actually a clever move a player trying to become something great in his career because of any hint or reassurance, a youngster gain could always valuable in their development stage. As the conversation goes on between Wright and the host, he revealed: “He got in touch with me on Instagram and we went from there”. , Martinelli was born in 2001, a year after Ian retired as a professional footballer.
Although, Wright is a hero for the Gunners and also very popular among the fans. But Martinelli could make the gunners faithful to forget Wright ever played for Arsenal in the future.
The fact that he sought out a legend that played 288 games for The Gunners, rather than the other way round, shows that the Brazilian teenager is proactive and assertive in his thoughts and ambition on how to become a superstar in Arsenal’s shirt.
He quickly learned about the club, history terrace idols and actively seeking to make himself a part of the rich history of the club. After signing for Arsenal in the summer of 2019, he has already scored 10 goals in 21 appearances.
A lot of players take time to settle in foreign countries, especially in English football as a Brazilian, which some never bother to integrate at all. Yet Martinelli is a conscious young man and understands that learning English will help him progress as fast as possible.
In conclusion, and most importantly for most important for the Arsenal fans, he has a passion for goal scoring. Something that differentiates him from other wide players is his pure insatiable desire to put the ball inside the onion bag.
Martinelli’s commitment to his art, as all football fans across the globe, witnessed it on Tuesday night at the Stanford bridge for his solo effort goal against Chelsea, It can be argued that there was a bit of luck with his goal on Tuesday night with the slip of Kante.
But running 80 yards at full speed being chased by defenders and having the nerves not to pass to a teammate but to slot the ball into the little space between Kepa and the post is a rare skill, even at the elite level of the world of football. After drawing 5-5 with Arsenal at Anfield in the Carabao Cup in November, Liverpool manager, Jurgen Klopp called Martinelli “The talent of the century”.
Though it may be too soon to go that far, putting his figures and performance this season, moments like Tuesday night would steadily give more and more credence to the German exuberant assessment of the teenager. Even Arsenal’s captain.
The Gooner news outlet reported that Aubameyang tweeted after his young teammate scored against Sheffield United on Saturday “Gabi is gonna be a superstar not because of his goal but because of his attitude, energy, and mindset”.
His skill, movement finishing, left foot, right foot and pace are clearly all there to make him one of superstar to ever play for Arsenal. Even of all the teenagers playing in the European top 5 leagues, only Jadon Sancho has been directly more involved in more goal goals this season that the Arsenal teenager.
What is most important now is Martinelli is the best stead for the future and his approach to learning and improving is what will make him another football superstar in the nearest future.