Profiling Arsenal's Gabriel Martinelli: The highest-scoring teenager in Europe's top 5 leagues | SK Wonderkids
The summer of 2019 was an eventful one for Arsenal Football Club. The North Londoners shocked the footballing world with the record-breaking capture of Nicolas Pepe from Lille for a whopping £72 million fee and went on to make five further additions to the squad to aid their push for a Champions League spot.
As a 13-year-old, Gabriel Martinelli was playing football on the streets of Brazil and dreamed of emulating Ronaldo Nazario, one of the most naturally gifted footballers to grace the game. Plying his trade with Corinthians at the time, the youngster was a prolific goalscorer for the youth sides and earned himself a move Ituano.
Competing in the Campeonato Paulista against the likes of Corinthians, Sao Paulo, Palmeiras, Santos and more where he made his debut as a 16-year-old, the youngster was named as the Revelation of the Tournament and was the youngest player to be included in the Team of the Tournament, for his tally of 6 goals.
"I would always dream of being Ronaldo – I loved him. His nickname says it all: The Phenomenon. He was my biggest idol when I was growing up, well, him and my dad."
Martinelli was the first summer signing for the Gunners and the teenager striker was snapped up by Unai Emery's side from Brazilian club Ituano for a meagre fee of £6 million, as an understudy to Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette. The 18-year-old arrived from his home country to the glitz and glamour of the Premier League and although he was initially expected to be loaned out to gain top-flight experience, he's been a revelation this season and taken the domestic cups by storm.
ecently hailed as the 'talent of the century' by Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp, in the wake of his brace against the European champions in a 5-5 draw in the Carabao Cup. Martinelli has established himself as one of the brightest striking talents in world football and the young Brazilian is not short on self-confidence after a stunning start to his Arsenal career.
“I guess the most important thing is that I’ve always known I would be a footballer. If I didn’t believe in myself, I could never achieve my goals - that’s how I think."
As many as 25 clubs across world football were interested in acquiring the services of the teenager, who had scored 202 goals in 248 games for the Corinthians youth side. Arsenal's promise of integrating him with the first team is believed to have been a defining factor in his move to the North London club.
Since joining the Gunners, Martinelli has scored 7 goals in all competitions, thereby making him the most prolific teenager in Europe's top five leagues this season. Aside from his finishing, the 18-year-old is wonderfully well rounded and excels in a handful of key aspects of the game. Martinelli's aerial ability, in particular, has been a feature of his gameplay in his short Arsenal career and three of his seven goals in all competitions have come via headers.
“I model my game on Cristiano Ronaldo. He is a player who works hard, pushing himself to the next level. Always in the run for titles and individual trophies."
Emery praised the youngster's work ethic after his Premier League debut and went on to say that he could become a big player for the club in the future, provided he stayed patient.
"He's hungry to have that opportunity to help us, he is very humble, he fights. I told him to have some patience for his opportunity to do like he was doing. He did that. He deserved it."
Arsenal have made an underwhelming start to their season but the emergence of Martinelli has been a silver lining, to say the least. The youngster arrived with a reputation and has slotted in seamlessly with the Gunners, proving that the jump up to the Premier League has not proved to be too steep.
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