“Everyone at Arsenal loves him, there’s no way you’ll be an Arsenal player and not love this guy. Even Pep Guardiola wants him at his club,” Arsenal legend Thierry Henry says the £60m Arsenal player is truly amazing and deserves a statue once he leaves the club.
Arsenal have improved massively over the past few years and have challenged for the Premier League title two years in a row now.
Although the Gunners failed to go the distance, they have solid foundations which should help them in title and trophy contention for years to come.
Key to this is a spine of young players at Arsenal, most of whom have long-term contracts at the club.
One of these is arguably the best bargain buy the Gunners have made in many years, namely Gabriel Martinelli.
Arsenal signed Martinelli from modest Brazilian outfit Ituano for just £6million back in 2019, and he arrived somewhat under the radar.
However, it didn’t take long for Martinelli to make an impact at Arsenal and become a fan favourite.
The 22-year-old has 174 appearances, 41 goals and 24 assists to his name, plus 11 caps and two goal for Brazil.
The Premier League’s YouTube channel has now published a video looking at four England-based players backed to make an impact at the Copa America and Euro 2024.
Martinelli, who is in the Selecao squad, featured in the video, and Arsenal legend Thierry Henry sung his praises.
“You can play low with him, on the counter, you can go and press with him,” he said.
“I think the way he did improve is amazing. People love him at Arsenal, because he gives 100 (percent) every single game.”
Arsenal struck gold with Gabriel Martinelli
Martinelli hit the ground running at Arsenal, scoring 10 goals in his first season at the Emirates Stadium.
This made him the first teenager since Nicolas Anelka to reach double figures in a single campaign for the Gunners.
Martinelli then fell out of contention for a while, but in November 2021, he was handed an opportunity he seized with both hands.
He came on as a substitute against Newcastle United and scored an outstanding volley to wrap up a 2-0 win for Mikel Arteta’s side.
Martinelli has never looked back, and now he’s a crucial member of the Arsenal first-team. Hopefully this will be the case for many years to come.
