Gabriel Martinelli says Arsenal have a ‘very quality’ player in their academy who can help the club achieve great success in the future.
Even after just missing out on the Premier League trophy to Manchester City again, there is still strong belief that their next title success is just around the corner.
Mikel Arteta has transformed the Gunners into one of the best teams in Europe, thanks in great part to investing in and developing young stars like William Saliba, Martin Odegaard, Bukayo Saka and of course Martinelli.
The 23-year-old moved to the Emirates in 2019 and has gone onto become a crucial player for Arteta, scoring 27 goals and making 15 assists in the league over the last three seasons.
The forward now hopes that he can help inspire the next generation coming through, opening up on his relationship with Arsenal’s current academy stars.
‘At the club they are very happy with the evolution of the young people who come up from the Academy,’ Martinelli told AS.
‘We try to give them all the help we can to make them comfortable. Everyone knows how difficult it is to get into the first team, to be a professional.
‘They have to take advantage of the opportunity, but also be calm.’
Among the youngsters hoping to break into the first-team are the likes of prolific goalscorer Chido Obi-Martin and record-breaker Ethan Nwaneri.
The latter became the youngest player to ever play in the Premier League when he made his debut aged just 15 years and 181 days in September 2022.
He’s only made one further senior appearance since, but Nwaneri, now 17, has always played at age levels far above his own and last season scored 18 and assisted four in 20 appearances for the U21s.
Asked whether he felt the attacking midfielder would be an important player for Arsenal in the near-future, Martinelli said: ‘Ethan is a very quality boy.
‘The club has a lot of faith in him and hopes that he will be the one who can help us the most in the future.’
Martinelli is currently at the Copa America where he’s hoping to triumph with Brazil alongside Arsenal teammate Gabriel Magalhaes.
