Arsenal summer signing Gabriel Martinelli has been backed to make a big impact on the Premier League for Unai Emery's team.
The Gunners purchased the teenager from Brazilian club Ituano earlier this month. He scored his first goal since the move in a pre-season friendly against Colorado Rapids in Denver, USA.
Last season, Arsenal brought in Matteo Guendouzi from French second division side Lorient, and the midfielder was initially expected to be a signing for the future.
However, he was thrown in at the deep end by Emery in the opening weeks of the Premier League season and after a difficult start against Manchester City he quickly found his feet.
In an , his former coach Luiz Antonio told about a similar moment in the development of the new Arsenal forward.
Watch Arsenal's new signing Gabriel Martinelli, courtesy of MyCujoo .
After his profile grew off the back of reports linking the teenager to the Gunners, teams started to pay more attention to the threat that he posed.
He recalled a match against Sao Paulo in which the youngster was boxed in by the man-marking of the opposition right-back, Hudson.
In the was the first contest in a two-legged tie and rather than put Martinelli off, his battles with the defender ultimately drove him on to do better in the follow up game.
"In Sao Paulo he didn't play well," said Luiz Antonio. "In the return leg, here in Itu, he was focused again. He managed to give Hudson serious problems."
That focus will stand him in good stead as he seeks to adapt to life in English football this season, and his old coach also has some words of advice to his new club and Martinelli over where he must improve.
"He'll need to get better physically, to take the tackles, to deal with the speed of the game, the intensity. But that's just a matter of time."
Sao Paulo's success in stifling Martinelli could have knocked his confidence. Instead, his response stands as a testament to his determination and the qualities that could make him a star at the Emirates soon enough.
