Gabriel Martinelli

Gabriel Teodoro Martinelli Silva (born 18 June 2001), known as Gabriel Martinelli (Brazilian Portuguese: [ɡabɾiˈɛw maɾˈtʃĩnɛli]), is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Premier League club Arsenal. Martinelli is known for his ability and footballing IQ.[4]

This name uses Portuguese naming customs: the first or maternal family name is Martinelli and the second or paternal family name is Silva.
Gabriel Martinelli
Martinelli playing for Arsenal in 2020
Personal information
Full name Gabriel Teodoro Martinelli Silva[1]
Date of birth (2001-06-18) 18 June 2001[2]
Place of birth Guarulhos, Brazil
Height 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)[3]
Position(s) Forward
Club information
Current team
 Arsenal
Number 35
Youth career
2010–2014 Corinthians
2015–2019 Ituano
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2018–2019 Ituano 17 (6)
2019– Arsenal 18 (3)
National team‡
2019– Brazil U23 1 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 22:04, 18 January 2021 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 05:10, 22 January 2020 (UTC)

Born and raised in Guarulhos, Martinelli initially featured as a futsal player for Corinthians, before beginning his football career with Ituano in 2015. After featuring and scoring for Ituano in the Copa Paulista and Campeonato Paulista, Martinelli signed for English club Arsenal in 2019.

At international level, Martinelli represents the Brazil under-23s, but is eligible to play for Italy through his father.[5]

Club career

Ituano

Born in Guarulhos, São Paulo, Martinelli started his career in 2010, playing for Corinthians' futsal team.[6] After making the breakthrough in football fields, he moved to Ituano in 2015, having subsequent trials at Manchester United and Barcelona.[7]

On 4 November 2017, Martinelli signed his first professional contract until October 2022.[8] He made his professional debut the following 17 March, coming on as a late substitute for goalscorer Claudinho in a 2–1 Campeonato Paulista away win against São Bento; at the age of 16 years and nine months, he became the youngest player to debut for the club in the century.[9]

Martinelli scored his first senior goal on 8 September 2018, netting the second in a 4–1 win over Taboão da Serra, for the year's Copa Paulista.[10] Definitively promoted to the first team for the 2019 Campeonato Paulista, he scored six goals during the competition, being the club's top goalscorer as they reached the quarterfinals; highlights included a brace in a 3–0 away win against Bragantino on 15 March.

Arsenal

Martinelli was reportedly subject to interest from a number of clubs, but signed a long term contract with Premier League club Arsenal on 2 July 2019.[11] As he holds an Italian passport, he was able to play immediately as he does not require a visa or work permit.[12] He scored a goal on his non-competitive debut, in a 3–0 pre-season victory against the Colorado Rapids.[13]

2019–20: Debut season
"Martinelli did amazing. He's like a Duracell battery, he keeps going."

—Arsenal's then-interim head coach Freddie Ljungberg on Martinelli's Premier League debut.[14]

Martinelli made his Premier League debut on 11 August 2019 in a 1–0 win against Newcastle United, coming on in the 84th minute as a substitute for Henrikh Mkhitaryan.[15]

On 24 September, Martinelli scored a brace on his first competitive start for the club in a 5–0 victory over Championship side Nottingham Forest in the EFL Cup. Martinelli opened and closed the scoring, first with a near-post header, and secondly with a long-range effort. Both were assisted by Calum Chambers. His performance received praise from head coach Unai Emery, who said: "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".[16]

Martinelli made his second start for Arsenal in a 4–0 home win over Standard Liège in the UEFA Europa League, in which he scored another brace. His first goal came in the thirteenth minute following a cross from fellow summer signing Kieran Tierney. He added his second three minutes later by cutting in on his right foot in the penalty area and scoring into the far corner. Martinelli also created his first assist of the season by setting up Arsenal's fourth goal, scored by Dani Ceballos.[17] Martinelli kept up his goalscoring form, netting the equaliser in a 3–2 home win over Vitória Guimarães, with yet another header.[18]

In the League Cup fourth round, Martinelli registered yet another brace in a 5–5 draw with Liverpool. Martinelli also scored his penalty in the penalty shootout, which Arsenal eventually lost.[19] As a result, Martinelli became the highest-scoring teenager for a top-five European league club, netting seven goals in seven appearances in all competitions. He also became the first player to score four times in his first four starts since Ian Wright.[20][21] Martinelli's performance received praise from Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp, who labelled him "[the] talent of the century".[22]

"He's an 18-year-old kid with all the enthusiasm [but is] brave [enough] to threaten the opponent every time. The way he went about every single action is impressive."

—Arsenal's head coach Mikel Arteta on Martinelli's performances.[23]

Martinelli's performances led to him being awarded the Arsenal 'Player of the Month' award for October, receiving 75% of the total votes cast, beating out Mattéo Guendouzi and fellow summer-signing Nicolas Pépé.[24] After the appointment of interim head coach Freddie Ljungberg, Martinelli started his first Premier League game and scored Arsenal's equaliser in an eventual 1–3 win over West Ham United. He scored his second league goal, and first after the appointment of permanent head coach Mikel Arteta, in a 1–1 draw with Sheffield United on 11 January.[25]

In the following game, Martinelli scored in a 2–2 away draw at Chelsea; his goal involved a 67-yard direct sprint across the field to net Arsenal's first equaliser. The goal made Martinelli the first teenager to reach double figures in a single season for Arsenal since Nicolas Anelka.[26] The goal was later voted as Arsenal's Goal of the Season by the club's fans.[27] On 3 July, Martinelli signed a new contract with the club, thought to be a be a four-year deal, with a team option for an extra year.[28] Shortly after, Martinelli was ruled out until the end of 2020, after undergoing surgery to repair a lesion in the cartilage of his knee following an injury in training on June 21.[29]

2020–21: Second season

Martinelli made his competitive return from injury on 19 December 2020, coming off the bench to play 19 minutes in a 2–1 away defeat to Everton.[30] He started his first game back from injury on 22 December, assisting Alexandre Lacazette's equalizer in an eventual 4–1 home defeat to Manchester City in the EFL Cup.[31] During the warmup against Newcastle United in the FA Cup on 9 January 2021, Martinelli sustained an ankle injury and was replaced in the lineup by Reiss Nelson.[32]

International career

Martinelli was born in Brazil, and is of Italian descent through his father;[33] he holds dual Brazilian-Italian citizenship.[12] On 20 May 2019, Martinelli was called up by Brazil national team manager Tite to complete preparatory training for the 2019 Copa América.[34] In November 2019, Martinelli appeared for Brazil's under-23 side at the United International Football Festival in Spain.[35]

Career statistics
As of match played 18 January 2021[36]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League State League National Cup League Cup Continental Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Ituano 2018 Paulista —3[lower-alpha 1]0———17[lower-alpha 2]4204
2019 Série D 0014[lower-alpha 1]6————146
Total 00176———1743410
Arsenal 2019–20[37] Premier League 143—3[lower-alpha 3]02[lower-alpha 4]47[lower-alpha 5]3—2610
2020–21[38] 40—0[lower-alpha 3]01[lower-alpha 4]00[lower-alpha 5]0—60
Total 183—303473103210
Arsenal U21 2020–21[38] —————1[lower-alpha 6]010
Career total 1831763034631846620
  1. Appearances in Campeonato Paulista
  2. Appearances in Copa Paulista
  3. Appearances in FA Cup
  4. Appearances in EFL Cup
  5. Appearances in UEFA Europa League
  6. Appearances in EFL Trophy

    Honours

    Arsenal

    Individual

    References
    1. "Updated squad lists for 2019/20 Premier League". Premier League. 6 February 2020. Retrieved 30 March 2020.
    2. "Gabriel Martinelli". Arsenal F.C. Retrieved 30 March 2020.
    3. "Gabriel Martinelli: Overview". Premier League. Retrieved 30 March 2020.
    4. https://metro.co.uk/2019/11/01/jurgen-klopp-hails-arsenal-youngster-gabriel-martinelli-talent-century-11022987/
    5. "Gabriel Martinelli eligibility: Will he play for Italy or Brazil in international football?". Goal. 9 October 2019. Retrieved 20 December 2019.
    6. "Ele fez mais de 200 gols na base do Corinthians, foi para o Ituano e agora é testado no United" [He scored more than 200 goals at Corinthians' youth setup, went to Ituano and now is trialled at United] (in Portuguese). ESPN Brasil. 28 July 2017. Retrieved 4 February 2019.
    7. "Quem é Martinelli? Artilheiro da Copinha trocou o Corinthians pelo Ituano e é monitorado pelo Barça" [Who is Martinelli? Copinha goalscorer changed Corinthians for Ituano and is targeted by Barça] (in Portuguese). Globo Esporte. 11 January 2019. Retrieved 4 February 2019.
    8. "Promessa do Galo, Gabriel Martinelli assina até 2022" [Prospect of Galo, Gabriel Martinelli signs until 2022] (in Portuguese). Jornal Periscópio. 4 November 2017. Retrieved 4 February 2019.
    9. "Gabriel Martinelli é o atleta mais jovem a estrear no Ituano" [Gabriel Martinelli is the youngest player to debut at Ituano] (in Portuguese). Ituano FC. 20 March 2018. Retrieved 4 February 2019.
    10. "Taboão da Serra 1 × 4 Ituano – Com início avassalador, Galo vence e assume liderança" [Taboão da Serra 1–4 Ituano – With a storming start, Galo win and take on leadership] (in Portuguese). Futebol Interior. 8 September 2014. Retrieved 4 February 2019.
    11. "Gabriel Martinelli to join club". Arsenal F.C. 2 July 2019.
    12. "Gabriel Martinelli does not rule out he could play for Italy". Tribuna.com. Retrieved 22 January 2020.
    13. "Gabriel Martinelli scores as youthful Arsenal team open US tour with win". BBC Sport. 16 July 2019.
    14. Stone, Simon (9 December 2019). "West Ham United 1–3 Arsenal". BBC Sport.
    15. Chowdhury, Saj (11 August 2019). "Newcastle 0–1 Arsenal: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang strike seals win". BBC Sport.
    16. "Arsenal 5–0 Nottingham Forest: Unai Emery praises Gabriel Martinelli after League Cup brace". BBC Sport. 24 September 2019.
    17. Sanders, Emma. "Arsenal 4–0 Standard Liege: Gabriel Martinelli impresses in ruthless win". BBC Sport. Retrieved 4 October 2019.
    18. Sanders, Emma (24 October 2019). "Substitute Nicolas Pepe rescued Arsenal with two sublime free-kicks in the last 10 minutes of their Europa League group game against Vitoria Guimaraes at Emirates Stadium". BBC Sport.
    19. Sanders, Emma (30 October 2019). "Liverpool beat Arsenal on penalties to secure their place in the quarter-finals of the Carabao Cup after 10 goals were scored in a thrilling contest at Anfield". BBC Sport.
    20. Dawnay, Oliver (30 October 2019). "Gabriel Martinelli: Incredible stat emerges as Arsenal teenager nets seventh goal for Gunners against Liverpool". Talk Sport.
    21. Olley, James (30 October 2019). "Liverpool 5-5 Arsenal: Four things we learned as Mesut Ozil and Gabriel Martinelli impress". The Standard.
    22. "Jurgen Klopp waxes lyrical about Gabriel Martinelli: 'He came from wherever and is really unbelievable!'". Tribuna.com. Retrieved 30 December 2020.
    23. Stone, Simon (11 January 2020). "Arsenal 1–1 Sheffield United". Arsenal F.C.
    24. "Martinelli is our October Player of the Month". Arsenal F.C. 8 November 2019.
    25. Rostance, Tom (18 January 2020). "Sheffield United manager Chris Wilder urged his players to "turn a really good story into a fantastic one" after his side's outstanding first season back in the Premier League continued with a draw at Arsenal".
    26. Johnston, Neil (22 January 2020). "Arsenal showed the "togetherness and leadership" that Mikel Arteta is demanding as they overcame David Luiz's red card to twice fight back and share the spoils in an eventful London derby". BBC Sport.
    27. "Martinelli wins 2019/20 Goal of the Season". Arsenal F.C. 18 August 2020.
    28. Benge, James (3 July 2020). "James Benge on Twitter: "Gabriel Martinelli's contract is a four year deal with a club option to extend it"". Twitter.
    29. "Martinelli signs new long-term contract". Arsenal F.C. 3 July 2020.
    30. McNulty, Phil (19 December 2020). "Eighth Premier League defeat for Gunners this season". BBC Sport.
    31. Johnston, Neil (22 December 2020). "Holders Manchester City piled on the misery for Arsenal with a ruthless performance at Emirates Stadium to reach the Carabao Cup semi-finals". BBC Sport.
    32. "Mikel Arteta has revealed Gabriel Martinelli was 'in tears' after sustaining a worrying injury in the warm-up ahead of Arsenal's FA Cup tie on Saturday". Talk Sport. Retrieved 10 January 2020.
    33. Brown, Cy. "5 Things To Know About New Arsenal Attacker Gabriel Martinelli". Forbes.
    34. "Martinelli, do Ituano, é chamado por Tite para treinos da Seleção na Copa América" [Martinelli, from Ituano, is called up by Tite for trainings of the Seleção in the Copa América] (in Portuguese). Globo Esporte. 20 May 2019. Retrieved 4 June 2019.
    35. "Seleção Brasileira Olímpica definida para encarar os EUA na Espanha" [Olympic Brazil squad set to face the USA in Spain] (in Portuguese). Brazilian Football Confederation. 14 November 2019. Retrieved 14 November 2019.
    36. Martinelli at Soccerway. Retrieved 4 February 2019.
    37. "Games played by Gabriel Martinelli in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 4 October 2019.
    38. "Games played by Gabriel Martinelli in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 10 December 2020.
    39. McNulty, Phil (1 August 2020). "Arsenal 2–1 Chelsea". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2 August 2020.
    40. "Corinthians, Jean Mota e Martinelli dominam premiação do campeonato" [Corinthians, Jean Mota and Martinelli dominate the tournament's awards] (in Portuguese). Federação Paulista de Futebol. 22 April 2019. Retrieved 23 April 2019.
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