Gabriel Martinelli: Arsenal’s next Superstar?

In this blog, I will be evaluating the impact the 18 year old Brazilian has made at Arsenal in his first 6 months and how much potential he has to become our next Superstar. I have pinpointed three key attributes which I believe make Martinelli such a promising player for the future.

Here are some quotes from people within the footballing world about Martinelli’s performances this season:

“Martinelli’s pretty much the same age but he’s a talent of the century, he’s an incredible striker”
Jürgen Klopp

“No fear, just keeps going. It is a pleasure to see him there on the pitch and for him to get the success that he did today brings a smile to your face.”
Freddie Ljungberg

Ability in front of goal

There’s no better place to start for the young Brazilian than goals, as he has been clinical in the box this season, leading to him bagging 10 goals already.

Premier League:

In the Premier League he has managed to score 3 goals in 13 matches, which doesn’t seem too impressive on the surface, but considering 8 of these have been from off the bench it makes his goals per minute very respectable. The rapid winger is managing one goal every 189 minutes which is an excellent return in his first campaign, as he is getting used to a new country along with new teammates and style of play. Combine this with the fact that he is playing on the wing, goal scoring certainly seems to come naturally to Martinelli, which in my opinion will eventually see him move to a more central position. His impact in the Premier League is growing with every appearance, in the absence of Aubameyang he has took on the goal scoring burden all by himself, scoring 2 goals in his last 2 games. His remarkable solo goal vs Chelsea this week highlighted what a talent we have on our hands and with the right guidance he can only get better.

Europa League:

This was the competition in which the 18 year old started to stake his claim for a spot in the starting 11, as he kicked off his debut with 2 goals and an assist against Standard Liege at home. It was an unbelievable start to his life at the Gunners and it meant the opportunities in this competition kept coming. After this he went on to get another goal and two assists, which took his overall tally to 3 goals and 3 assists in 6. His goals per minute was at one every 117, this is no small feat for someone playing their first ever European football.

Carabao Cup:

Although the Gunners were knocked out relatively early in this competition, it didn’t stop him from making an incredible impact, scoring 4 goals in 2 games. These were scored in two separate braces, including one against Liverpool at Anfield, which is definitely not an easy place to go. Many young players have been swallowed up by the atmosphere in Merseyside, however Martinelli seemed to thrive, this is a sign of a potential world class player.

Attitude

There has been many reasons why Arsenal fans have been so impressed with Martinelli this season, but one that strikes me is his attitude. He always seem willing to learn and take advice off more senior players, while being able to execute any game plan the three different managers that he’s played under this season have asked of him. Without his kind of mentality and attitude he wouldn’t have nearly as much potential as what he does because no matter how technically gifted you are, there is no way you can become an elite player without these attributes to match. When Gabby first came to the Gunners he said that he bases his style of play off Cristiano Ronaldo, I can clearly see some similarities with their mentalities, this was highlighted when Arsenal played West Ham at the London Stadium earlier in the season. As an 18 year old to score your first Premier League goal to draw your team level and then proceed to grab the ball and put it on the spot, without really celebrating shows the kind of attitude that we need at the club. If I was to score at Sunday League level I would celebrate let alone in the Premier League, I guess that’s why he’s playing for Arsenal and I’m not!

In my opinion this is a vital attribute which all top level players need to reach the pinnacle and is the reason Gooners have been raving about him for the last 6 months. I also believe this is something in which you just have within yourself and cannot be developed through training and is probably such a big asset to Gabby as a result of growing up in São Paulo, which isn’t easy for any kid. In the long run, it appears that his upbringing has done him good as it has instilled a never say die attitude!

Work Rate

Another area of the young Brazilian’s game which he excels in, is his relentless work rate, every time he pulls on the Arsenal shirt. Every supporter knows that when Gabby enters the pitch, he will give it everything he’s got and not leave anything out there. Many talented young players, especially wingers, have not fulfilled their potential due to managers not trusting them to help the team out off the ball. This is certainly not the case for Martinelli, who receives many plaudits for his tracking back, this was highlighted against Chelsea. Constantly helping out Saka, who had a tough job playing in a position he doesn’t know very well, with the Brazilian ending up deeper than the Englishman at times.

This is an attribute which most elite players possess and the fact that he is so switched on defensively, covering the ground for the good of the team makes him an amazing asset to have. Without this part of his game, I do not think he would have had as many opportunities as he has done, along with his impact not being as noticeable if he didn’t put the as much effort in.

Overall, there are so many positives when it comes to Martinelli, many more than negatives at this moment in time. Every performance he is putting in is filling Arsenal fans with hope and the fact that he has moved so young will benefit him even more in the future as every minute of playing time at a club the size of Arsenal will improve him as a player, especially under Arteta’s man management skills. With his goal at Chelsea, he has become the first teenager to score 10 goals in all competitions for the Gunners since Nicolas Anelka, with about half the season still to go. It’s another reminder as to why some many fans have been raving about the youngster. In my opinion he has all the tools to reach the top, along with the mentality to match, therefore I see no reason as to why he wouldn’t become world class. Not only this, but all these key attributes I have mentioned will only continue to improve with consistent game and by the time he is in his prime opposition teams could be sick of the sight of him!

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James Humphreys