The 18 year-old Arsenal striker Gabriel Martinelli may have only been playing in the 4th tier of Brazilian football last season, but he has exploded into life after moving to the Gunners in the summer. Amazingly he has already scored 5 goals from his 3 starts for Arsenal and looks like a real find by Edu.
Despite his age he has settled into a new country and continent extremely quickly (compared to Pepe!) and he has been helped immensely by our Argentinian keeper Emi Martínez. He is certainly not overawed by the speed he has settled in. The youngster told Arsenal.com: “No, I’m not surprised,”
“It’s what I wanted, what I dreamed about, to sign for a big club.
“I’ve gotten used to everything – the weather, the team and I think I’ve settled in well. I think I’ve started well because I’m working very hard.
“I have to thank Emi because he is helping me a lot. My family is always here with me to keep my feet on the ground.
“If I carry on like this, the rewards will come. Working very hard, always trying to win matches for the team and always giving my all on the pitch.”
Martinelli certainly works very hard for the team, but the most important thing is that he turns that commitment into goals on a regular basis, and if there is one thing Arsenal need right now it is more goals! I can see no reason why he shouldn’t be given an extended run in the first team now to see if he can improve even further.
If you are good enough, you are young enough.
What do you think?
Let him stick to the Europa, get a few game time in league games. Let’s not put throw him into the deep end. Not many youngsters can handle the pressure of the EPL.
Guendouzi’s different because right from the first EPL match,he was thrown into the deep end and the boy handled it well.
I’ll say let Martinelli keep owing the Europa, let his price tag move up, then when we get a better coach who can play good football. Let him get thrown into the mix too.
Because right now all our coach cares about is 10 players ready to run all over the pitch with footballing brains.
Martinelli has the energy for it, but I’m afraid if we keep up with this running and running without playing good football, not only Martinelli, but our youngsters will hit stagnation
Don’t you mean “if you’re good enough, you’re old enough”….. Anyways, I think Martinelli is progressing fine, and if he keeps up his efforts, he might as well become a starter before he knows it. Being young doesn’t mean one can’t be a very good player, Mbappe and Haaland comes to mind…. So, he should just keep up his game, and grab his chances with both hands.
Drop either Saka or Pepe for Martinelli, because Saka and Pepe didn’t play well in their last two EPL matches
Martinelli was excellent as a CF, but Arsenal need to see his potential as a winger as well
Just imagine leicester competing fr top 4,if we av city,pool,chelsea&leicester,wuld we achive our goals wit recent form?
Ability only takes you so far. Martinelli as well as ability, has the commitment, hunger and application for hard work to succeed. Arsenal have a real gem in the making in this player.
👍👍
Martinelli: another testament to the importance of a youth system that works. He should not be made to start week in week out yet.
A run of substitute appearances, a start here and there to keep Auba and the other senior players fresh and clever use of personnel that every elite coach worth his salt should know.
Question. Does Unai Emery know?
It’s not our youth system that is working, martinelli and guendozi are not from our youth system…the ones we have from our youth system are just plan useless apart from saka n smith Rowe who look like they might turn into some sort of good players. Rest just hyper up by fans.
Unfortunately they get pampered too much. I read a story about Peter Beardsley who grew up with an English mate of mine in Newcastle upon Tyne area. Beardsley was then the kit man for England U18’s and was not even recognised by players not good enough to lace his boots.
The trouble is too many young players make too much money too soon.
I talked “of a youth system” not “our youth system”. A youth system produced him and we are simply benefitting.
That was the case with Serge Gnabry. He is a product of our youth system and somebody is benefitting now.
I was only emphasising the fact that a youth system that works is invaluable. Martinelli will be a huge start for us by the time he is 21, if he keeps working hard. He needs to be handled right though.
Chelsea’s youth system is working. Frank Lampard is benefiting from it.
Kenny, he should be as Chelsea bought just about every promising youngster going. From memory that some ridiculous number out on loan. One would expect some of them to come good and investing in promising juniors is lower cost than buying the finished article, with high transfer value.
Hes going to be world class definitely.
Off topic how about brendan rodgers for manager…
he is clearly better than saka who is younger i think and has already started league games so dont see an issue here … what i find worrying is that a former country and western singer turned football manager is making leicester look better than us after a few months in charge yet fans are still saying we need to give emery more time … ffs what for????
Leic had the squad together, a hard working bunch, also they just need to be better than the rest and at this stage of season there’s usually someone doing well, it’s teams like Leic, Eve, Sou, Wham, those teams from time punched above their weight. If he does finish in the CL places with them then yes it is more than worrying, it’s a disaster, but we’re a long way off from that. Eve and Tott are two smaller clubs that punched above their weight by finishing in places, so it’s not impossible that Leic will take advantage of our changes and utd’s form or Che youngsters.
I prefer Martinelli over saka, if saka is deemed old enough to be starting and playing the full minute then I think Martinelli deserves more. base on hunger, determination and talent, Martinelli is ahead all other youth players
I have been beginning of the same.let’s ask ourselves something…does Emery inspire the team to give its maximum?Matches should be an all out war and the team should always be looking at destroying teams which Rodgers is pushing Leicester to do.looking at investments we have invested more than them so why can’t we maximize the teams potential. Sadly this season looks like the previously won by leicester where no traditional top six seems to want it and they have smelt it and are already going for it
I’d rather we choose when and where over giving him the starting spot, let him work his way up to it by bringing him off the bench when we think he might get some joy. That and the Europa games will help his confidence, also there’s also the worry of youngsters taking bad challenges and it hindering the player or making him prone a little later in career. He looks a good player, fast, direct, and he plugs away, he has a bit about him ..I loved seeing him dink the keeper for an assist, was a bit special, some of our players would concentrate on getting it on target and trying to fire the ball through a player or shoot weak effort. It’s also a good sign that he can score with his head the way he does, he looks one of those left foot, right foot, head, hat-trick.
I really don’t see what Saka brings to the team compared to Martinelli. When we’re playing with Saka it feels like we’re a man down. Martinelli is head and shoulders above Saka and should be starting instead.
Martinelli, like a few others are coming in at a young age and doing brilliant. Lets let them progress and not heap too much expectations too soon. We have an exciting crop for the future if nurtured correctly. He will like others progressively get more game time. He is all ready ahead of what was expected of him. Talent in the making.