Having exceeded all expectations in his first year at Arsenal , Gabriel Martinelli must have found last season extremely frustrating.
After sustaining a serious knee injury in training last summer, he was ruled out for six months and missed a sizeable chunk of the campaign. When he returned in December, Arsenal were in a difficult spot and it took both him and the team some time to find their feet again.
As the campaign went on, however, fans, commentators and pundits began to question why Martinelli wasn’t starting more often.
With 10 goals from 26 appearances in his first season at the club, he had already shown what he could do given the chance and, with Arsenal’s other forwards struggling for form and fitness, he seemed like an obvious alternative.
While Mikel Arteta consistently praised his efforts behind the scenes, he also suggested that Martinelli needed to keep working on the finer details of his game. Asked about Martinelli’s limited game time in April, he said: “When the team is not winning enough football matches, we always look for someone else to do it. But we can name a few of those.
“I respect that, and Gabi is doing really well. He is doing better every day, he is getting the right development.
“We have to be a little bit patient with him, but he has a bright future at the club and he will have all the opportunities that he needs to show us how good he is and the career he can have with us.”
Having ended the season with two goals from 22 appearances in total, Martinelli will be hoping for a fresh start and more minutes next term. Before then, he will get a chance to showcase his talents at the Tokyo Olympics having been selected to represent Brazil at the men’s football tournament.
Should Martinelli start for Arsenal next season? Comment below
With the tournament set to start on July 22, Brazil had their final warm-up friendly on Thursday evening. Having come on as a substitute with his side 2-1 down to the United Arab Emirates, Martinelli helped to change the game and inspire a 5-2 win.
As well as revitalising Brazil in attack, he rounded off one of their best moves of the game with an instinctive finish. After a cross from Dani Alves – one of the team’s three overage players for a tournament otherwise limited to under-24s – Hertha Berlin forward Matheus Cunha headed back across goal to find Martinelli ghosting in for a tap-in.
While he could miss a significant amount of Arsenal’s pre-season campaign depending on how far Brazil go at the tournament, Martinelli should still have a chance to impress Arteta at the Olympics. If he continues to perform well for Brazil, he should hopefully return to Arsenal feeling confident and competitive.
Having won gold at Rio 2016, Brazil are defending champions and will be looking to repeat the feat in Japan. That would be the ideal start to the season for Martinelli, though it’s now up to him to help make that dream a reality.
Do you want an exclusive pre-season preview of YOUR club – both in your inbox and through your letterbox? Head over here to find out more and secure your copy.
