Ronaldo comparisons are premature but Martinelli’s potential is obvious to Arteta
Arsenal manager has been surprised by big-game mentality of his Brazilian teenager, says Sam Dean
Mikel Arteta had been warned about Gabriel Martinelli’s precocious talent, but he did not truly believe it until he had seen it. Upon accepting Arsenal’s proposal to become the new head coach last month, he was told how impressed he would be by the Brazilian teenager who has become one of the few positives of a miserable, gruelling season in north London.
“They said ‘you will be surprised how prepared he is to compete with any other player in this squad’ and I thought ‘yeah, OK, but he is 18,’” said Arteta. “But when you see him in big games and how he goes about everything, it is surprising.
“I heard a lot of things about Gabi before I joined, but the moment I saw him training, it confirmed all the things I was told. I think the way he competes, and how brave he is with every decision he makes on the pitch, is very unusual for an 18-year-old.”
The sight of Martinelli scorching down the Stamford Bridge turf on Tuesday night, leaving the entire Chelsea team in his wake and N’Golo Kante a sprawling mess on the floor, was one of the most invigorating moments of Arsenal’s campaign so far. The subsequent finish, low and hard into the corner, underlined both his technical ability and his clarity of thought.
There are plenty of young players with talent, skill and pace. What seems to make Martinelli different – and these remain early days, remember – is the mentality. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang certainly thinks so, tweeting last weekend after a strike against Sheffield United that the Brazilian is going to be a “superstar” not because of his goal but because of his “energy and mindset”.
Arsene Wenger used to say the best strikers were produced in Brazil because of the culture of street football and the “fighting attitude” needed to succeed. The early evidence is that Martinelli, all breathless runs and energetic pressing, ticks that box.
This, however, is not to say that Martinelli has emerged from the Brazilian slums, like so many of his professional contemporaries. His family life was settled, growing up in the city of Guarulhos, near Sao Paulo, and from a young age everything was geared towards footballing success in Europe. He was barely into his teenage years when he began to use his own nutritionist.
“His fight, his spirit, is incredible,” said Arteta. “And then he is a threat for goals every time.”
It is hard to argue, especially when the Brazilian starts up front. All 10 of his goals this season (only Aubameyang has more for Arsenal) have come in the matches Martinelli has started. In those games, he is averaging a goal every 96 minutes.
For a player who was turned down by Manchester United and Barcelona, these are remarkable numbers. It is also remarkable that Martinelli cost around only £6 million when he signed from Brazilian side Ituano last summer, and that he was not initially expected to compete for a firstteam place. Naturally, performances this season have raised expectations. In truth, it might already be excessive. In October, the BBC ran a headline in
which Martinelli was labelled the “new Cristiano Ronaldo”.
Is the club “in the palm of his hands”, as former Arsenal defender Martin Keown said this week? “I would like to talk about potential more than what it is at the moment,” said Arteta. “The stature of this club, to give him the key to do that straight away, I think it is not fair on him. I want him to train with his head down every day, hard.”
Arteta, evidently, is not the type of manager to get carried away. Asked if it will now be hard to bring Aubameyang back into the side, because of Martinelli’s form, he laughed and said: “I don’t think that is a very difficult thing from my side.”
The excitement is obvious, though, and Martinelli’s performances have earned that. The praise is deserved and the potential is obvious. Time will tell how far he can go.