Brazilian youngster Gabriel Martinelli has said that he wants to stay put with Arsenal for the long-term and become a legend of the club. The 18-year-old has enjoyed a terrific debut season with the Gunners after the move from Ituano and he has already contributed 10 goals and two assists in all competitions.
As a result of those performances, he has already been linked with a possible move to Real Madrid but Martinelli is determined to remain with the Gunners for the long-term and win every trophy within grasp, he told FourFourTwo: “I want to win the Champions League and lots of domestic titles to make Arsenal’s fans very happy. They deserve the best – not only the supporters but all of the club’s staff. I’d like to give back to the club after everything they’ve done for me so far and, as a result, become a Gunners legend.”
Martinelli arrived from fourth-tier Brazilian outfit Ituano last summer and he made an instant impression during pre-season. As such, he was directly promoted to the first-team squad under Unai Emery and he made the initial impact in the Cup competitions. However, as the season has progressed, he has become more of an influence on the league proceedings and has contributed three goals.
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has generally preferred Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Nicolas Pepe on the wings and that has seen Martinelli drop to the bench over the past few games. That, however, can’t be seen as a setback for him, considering he is only at the beginning of his professional career and requires patience. The Gunners have recently found form with three league wins on the bounce and that sees them in the ninth spot on the table. They are currently five points behind Manchester United in the race for the final Champions League spot, with a game in hand.
