What Gabriel Martinelli brings to Arsenal
This week Arsenal officially announced their first signing of the summer, with the acquisition of Brazilian teenager Gabriel Martinelli. The Gunners purchased the 18-year-old for a fee close to £6million. Headhunted by the club’s new technical director himself, Gabriel Martinelli can be declared as the first signing of the Edu era.
This is the same player that has had trials at both Manchester United and Barcelona. Although they weren’t successful, it still showcases the pedigree of his talent. It remains to be seen whether Gabriel Martinelli could be a first team player this season but regardless, Arsenal has made a potentially shrewd investment.
In a time where the Gunners are looking to rebuild the whole squad, don’t be surprised to see the youngster feature heavily in Emery’s plans, look at what happened with Mattéo Guendouzi last season!
Here’s what Gabriel Martinelli brings to Arsenal.
#3 Versatility
As is the case with exceptionally talented youngsters, Martinelli excels in a number of positions. The Brazilian has been known to play as a striker, winger and attacking midfielder.
Many publications say that Corinthians was Martinelli’s first club, what they don’t tell you is that he was a Futsal player at Corinthians. For those who are not familiar with Futsal, it’s an adaptation of football originating from Uruguay that’s played with a smaller ball on smaller pitches.
The sport focuses on developing a player’s ball control and precision of passing. Through this Gabriel developed his wizardry dribbling in tight spaces and football intelligence from the confined 5-a-side pitches.
It’s because of these skills that the Brazilian can play in any one of the front four positions, as his influence on the pitch goes beyond physical traits, but also through his quickness of thought.