Get all your news in one place.
100's of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Sport
Mark Jones

Gabriel Martinelli sends message to Arsenal teammates after wondergoal at Chelsea

Arsenal wonderkid Gabriel Martinelli preferred to focus on the team effort after his stunning goal helped earn the Gunners a 2-2 draw at Chelsea .

Martinelli's brilliant run and finish shot a 10-man Arsenal back into the game at Stamford Bridge, with the Gunners a goal down and a man down by half-time.

David Luiz was sent off against his former club in the first half when he upended Tammy Abraham in the penalty area, with Jorginho further punishing the Gunners from the spot.

But Martinelli charged past a slipping N'Golo Kante to level just after the hour mark, giving a resolute Arsenal new hope.

The Gunners thought they'd lost the game just six minutes from time when Cesar Azpilicueta stabbed home for the Blues, only for Hector Bellerin to curl home the equaliser three minutes later.

Martinelli celebrates after his brilliant run and finish (Arsenal FC via Getty Images)

Many are hailing the result and performance as a breakthrough moment for Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta, with Martinelli to the fore in his young team.

After the match the 18-year-old forward took to Instagram to upload a video of his excellent goal to his Story, as well as share a photo of him celebrating with teammates Alexandre Lacazette and Nicolas Pepe, captioning the image "Great teamwork".

Arteta admitted that he did almost substitute Martinelli after Luiz's red card, only to rethink his decision.

The forward posted this image on Instagram (Instagram - @ga_martinelli01)

“I was thinking about it but I didn’t want to send that message to the team,” he said.

“We decided to stay as we are and give them a chance to show how they could respond.

“I asked them to be accountable for what they do and did not want to make a decision that makes them decide.

“We’re still a long way from many things we have to improve but in terms of this spirit, this will give us the platform of everything we want to build together. Without this you can’t compete to any level.”

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100's of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.