The Brazilian winger has endured another largely frustrating season, but seems to have found form at the perfect time for the Gunners
He’s a talent of the century, he’s an incredible striker. He’s really unbelievable,” Jurgen Klopp famously said after watching an 18-year-old Gabriel Martinelli score a brace for Arsenal against his Liverpool team in a 2019-20 Carabao Cup round of 16 tie. “So young, looks so mature already, is a proper threat. I didn’t want to put any backpack [pressure] on his back with this thing, but I just really like good football players and obviously he’s a very good one.
Despite his best intentions, though, Klopp’s glowing remarks did indeed put a heavy “backpack” around Martinelli’s shoulders. Expectations for the Brazilian were modest prior to that game, given Arsenal had paid just £8m to sign him that summer from Brazilian minnows Ituano, but an endorsement from one of the best managers in the business put him on the map.
Sure enough, Martinelli went on to establish himself as a regular starter at the Emirates Stadium, and was one of the Gunners’ standout performers in 2022-23 as they came agonisingly close to clinching their first Premier League title in almost two decades. Very few defenders had any answer to Martinelli’s explosive, unpredictable style of play, and it seemed inevitable that Klopp would be proven right at that stage.
But fast-forward to the present day, and it’s fair to say Martinelli’s progress has stalled. For a time, the 23-year-old seemed to have lost the fearless edge that made him so exciting to watch, and it has been reported that the Gunners could sanction his departure if they receive an attractive offer in the summer transfer window.
Martinelli, though, has not just suddenly been zapped of all his talent like Charles Barkley & Co when aliens invaded the NBA in the hit movie ‘Space Jam’. Rather, the Arsenal man still has the capacity to be a match-winner, as he has reminded everyone – including Champions League semi-final opponents Paris Saint-Germain – with his performances at home and abroad in the last week.
Indeed, if Arsenal are to upset the odds and beat PSG to reach their first Champions League final since 2006, Martinelli could hold the key. After all, he was the one who tormented Real Madrid at Santiago Bernabeu in the second leg of Arsenal’s quarter-final tie, tying Lucas Vazquez in knots before eventually earning his team a 2-1 win with a scintillating run and finish deep into stoppage time.
It was the same version of Martinelli that left Klopp so awestruck almost six years ago. Incredibly, though, that was only his second goal in the Champions League this season, and his first in any competition since Arsenal’s 2-2 draw with Aston Villa in the Premier League on January 18.
That’s partly because of a hamstring injury that kept him sidelined for a month, and the fact that he had to regularly fill in for Bukayo Saka on the right flank while his team-mate was out injured. But the main reason was simply depleted confidence levels.
There was no change in Martinelli’s work rate, it just felt like a spark was missing, as was also the case when he endured a 17-game goal drought between March and September last year. The Brazilan finally rediscovered it in Madrid, and Arsenal supporters will hope that night proves to be a turning point in his career.
“I can’t say it’s my best season for Arsenal. [But] I’m really happy. I think it’s the biggest night of my career because scoring at the Bernabeu is amazing and I’m really happy with the performance of the team and the goal, as well,” he told the iPaper upon his return to north London.
Arteta resisted the urge to rest Martinelli for Arsenal’s trip to Ipswich in the Premier League on Sunday, despite it being a relatively meaningless game given Liverpool have all but sewn up the title already. That suggests the Spaniard knows full well how important it is for Martinelli to build up some momentum, and the decision paid off as the Gunners romped to a 4-0 win at Portman Road.
Martinelli was a constant threat as he forced Axel Tuanzebe back every time he got on the ball, often going for the by-line instead of cutting back to look for the easy pass. It wasn’t a performance on the same level as the one at the Bernabeu, with the Brazil international hooked for Raheem Sterling in the final 20 minutes, but he had a spring in his step again, and got his name on the scoresheet for the second game in a row.
Just before the half-hour mark, Martinelli swept home an assured first-time finish to cap a lovely team move and put Arsenal 2-0 up, after being teed up cleverly by Mikel Merino. He bust a gut to get to the back post ahead of his marker and made no mistake from close range, becoming the fourth-youngest player to bring up 50 goals for the Gunners in the process (after Saka, Cesc Fabregas and Theo Walcott).
Now back on his usual flank and fully fit, Martinelli is starting to hit top gear at the perfect time. It may be too late to save Arsenal’s latest bid for domestic glory, but he is in great shape to spearhead their European ambitions.
Arteta is certainly pleased with Martinelli’s mini-resurgence, as he made clear in his post-match press conference: “I think he’s in very good form at the moment, full of confidence, looks really sharp as well and he’s arriving in very dangerous situations with very good timing which is good to see.”
Indeed, Arsenal don’t just need Martinelli to create goals at the moment, he also has to shoulder much of the scoring burden in the absence of a natural centre-forward, with Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus both still on the treatment table. The last two games suggest he can rise to the challenge.
Martinelli is back to attacking his man and looking for the most direct route to goal, which is what initially made him a fan favourite. He proved he’s capable of putting up big numbers two seasons ago, registering 21 goal involvements in all competitions, and for all his recent struggles, Martinelli is now just six short of that total for the current campaign.
Arteta is being rewarded for keeping faith in the attacker while others have been too quick to write him off. But make no mistake: the real test of his mettle will come when Arsenal welcome PSG to the Emirates on April 29.
Beating the Champions League holders 5-1 on aggregate is an impressive feat, but Arsenal simply exploited the weaknesses of a disjointed Madrid side that had been heading for a fall for some time.
PSG will represent a much sterner challenge. Since seeing Kylian Mbappe depart for Madrid, the French champions have evolved into the most complete team on the continent under Luis Enrique, combining breath-taking flair with relentless hard graft across all areas of the pitch.
Led by Ousmane Dembele, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Desire Doue, the French champions boast the firepower to blow away all comers, as Aston Villa found out to their peril in the previous round. But Arsenal can succeed where Unai Emery’s team failed.
The Gunners still look rock solid at the back, despite losing Gabriel Magalhaes to injury, and Arteta will have a plan to stifle PSG’s fearsome frontline. Meanwhile, at the other end of the pitch, Arsenal can cause PSG just as many problems as Villa did, if not more, with Martinelli now seemingly approaching his best level again.
Outshining the likes of Dembele and Kvaratskhelia would propel Martinelli to new career heights, too. This is his opportunity to enter the world-class bracket, and the mercurial Brazilian has to grab it with both hands, or else risk facing more uncomfortable speculation over his future in the wake of yet another trophy-less season for Arsenal.
If Martinelli does fail to finish the season with a bang, he could – at the very least – lose his starting place under Arteta next season. That’s because Arsenal still hold an interest in long-term target Nico Williams, who has enjoyed another fine year with Athletic Club.
At 22, Williams is already an accomplished technician with an eye for killer passes. His ingenuity helped Spain break down all their opponents playing with a low block at Euro 2024, which is how most teams set up against Arsenal.
In stark contrast, Martinelli typically needs space and time on the ball to thrive. Williams has also built a strong relationship with Marc Cucurella at international level that makes a huge difference against deep defences, but Martinelli has yet to establish similar bonds with his Arsenal team-mates or in the Brazil national team. That’s one of the reasons why Saka has overtaken him as Arsenal’s attacking talisman. In tighter areas, Saka will look to link with Odegaard and Ben White to get in behind enemy lines.
Arsenal have not carried as much threat down the left because Martinelli has been too easy to mark. To make himself untouchable like Saka again, Martinelli has to show he can be equally adaptable in games where the margins are finer.
Martinelli’s destiny is still very much in his hands, and he possesses the strength of character to not only reaffirm his importance to Arsenal, but also live up to Klopp’s billing as a generational superstar. Nothing has ever been handed to Martinelli; he had four trials at Manchester United as a youth player, but by his own admission, “there was never a moment when they wanted to sign me.”
Disappointment of that magnitude often consumes promising youngsters, but Martinelli only took positives from the experience, and that ultimately led to his big break at Arsenal. “It gave me a taste and made the adaptation a little easier because I had experienced football in England,” he added to The Athletic. “Even after those trials, I always believed in myself. My mind is always thinking, ‘I can do it’.
That belief is coursing through Martinelli’s veins again as Arsenal stand just three games away from immortality. The Gunners do not possess the strength in depth of PSG, or potential Champions League final opponents Inter and Barcelona, but if Martinelli repeats his heroics at the Bernabeu, the trophy could well head back to the Emirates at the end of May.
