"I hope to see you in March" - Arsenal's Gabriel Martinelli details cheeky approach by Chelsea's Jorginho to change nationalities
Arsenal star Gabriel Martinelli has revealed that Chelsea midfielder Jorginho made a cheeky attempt to lure the Brazilian into playing for Italy. The Gunners star holds dual citizenship in Brazil and Italy. Jorginho himself could've played for the South American country but chose to represent the European nation.
Martinelli has already won Olympic gold with Brazil in 2020. He scored a penalty in their semi-final win over Mexico before the side eventually defeated Spain in the final.
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Official: Arsenal duo Gabriel Magalhães & Gabriel Martinelli have been called up to the Brazil national team for their upcoming final World Cup qualifiers against Chile & Bolivia later this month. 🇧🇷
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Speaking about whether anyone asked him to play for Italy, he told Globo (via Mirror):
"No-one spoke to me, only Jorginho once said to me, 'I hope to see you in March', something like that, but no-one [official] spoke to me, no. As I’ve said before, my dream was always to play for Brazil. I was just waiting for the opportunity to play for Brazil."
The Arsenal star has been called up for the Brazilian national side for the first time this month. However, he has contracted an illness and missed his club's last game in the Premier League against Aston Villa. He has joined the Brazilian squad, though, and will hope to get fit in time to make his debut for the national side.
Arsenal star Gabriel Martinelli faces tough competition in the Brazil national team
Martinelli plays on the left wing in the Arsenal lineup and has been very effective for Mikel Arteta's side. The Gunners have a relatively small squad and that gives Martinelli a decent chance to feature regularly.
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However, Brazil has a lot of competition for the wider positions. They have the likes of Neymar Jr., Vinicius Jr. and Antony, among others. The Arsenal star is aware of this and assures that he will try to make the best of the opportunities he receives. He said:
"I prefer to play on the wings, the left side especially. But I also like to reach the box a lot with a chance to finish. I can also play on the right side, but my favourite position is on the left wing, cutting inside and getting as close to the goal as possible. We have many stars in our squad, but I will try to take advantage of the opportunity I have in the best way possible."
The 20-year-old winger will hope to make his official debut for Brazil when they face Bolivia and Chile this week.