Arsenal winger Gabriel Martinelli earned his tenth cap for Brazil last night scoring his country’s second goal in a 3-2 win against Mexico.
Despite being a friendly, it was a hotly contested affair and Martinelli was given a chance to start in his customary left-wing role he plays at Arsenal.
Gabriel Magalhaes was on the bench on this occasion, one of several rested players.
But any Arsenal fans watching on will have been treated to a midfield pair who have both been linked to the club, Atalanta’s Ederson and Aston Villa’s Douglas Luiz – who is already very familiar.
Incidentally, Arsenal have just been told they can sign Luiz for a cut-price before the month is over, which could change their summer plans significantly.
But in terms of Martinelli, the winger will be purely focused on proving his worth right now after a frustrating campaign.
Leandro Trossard ended the season as Mikel Arteta’s first choice on the left, often leaving Martinelli on the bench.
Gabriel Martinelli praised for his defensive work after second Brazil goal
Judging by last night’s showing, Martinelli is already making a strong case to win his starting spot at Arsenal back.
Playing 61 minutes on Sunday evening, Martinelli’s performance was complemented by Brazilian source Globo.
The outlet recognised that most of Brazil’s work was executed on the other side of the pitch, but praised Martinelli for his defensive work helping out his full-back.
Scoring Martinelli 7/10, they wrote: “Brazil’s game didn’t develop much on the left side of the field, but the Arsenal striker knew how to take advantage of the actions on the right to attack the area.
“In this way, he missed the goal after Andreas’ cross in the first minute. Afterwards, he left his mark as a centre forward in a play by Yan Couto. Defensively, it was important to close the spaces in their sector to help [Guilherme] Arana.”
The Arsenal winger was clearly making a big effort to arrive in the box at the right time, perhaps demonstrating his potential to play centrally.
It’s long been debated whether Martinelli would thrive from such a change – a position he is often trained in whilst away with Brazil.
But with Arsenal likely to buy a striker this month, that perhaps won’t come to fruition.
That being said, Arsenal are now ready to make a £51m offer for one of Europe’s best young talents.
