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Football London
Football London
Sport
Joe Doyle

The key decisions that made Arsenal star Gabriel Martinelli perfect for Premier League football

Gabriel Martinelli has been in fine form for Arsenal.

The 18-year-old has now scored 10 goals in all competitions this season - the first time a teenager has done so for Arsenal since the days of Nicolas Anelka.

His equaliser against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge was a moment to remember for the Brazilian, with fans celebrating wildly after a great run was finished off coolly by the striker.

And he has been receiving praise from all quarters, including teammate Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and a host of other pundits after notching goals in consecutive Premier League appearances.

Arsenal fans celebrating Gabriel Martinelli's goal at Stamford Bridge

There were concerns when he signed that it might take a while for Martinelli to adapt to the Premier League following a lack of senior first-team football in Brazil, but it has not proved to be the case - and it's to do with some key differences in the training he received at his former club.

ESPN journalist Natalie Gedra told the Totally Football Show that Martinelli was specifically trained in order to adapt quickly to European football.

"I was just impressed with Martinelli’s personality: he just took the ball and went with it, he knew exactly what he wanted to do," she stated. "He’s only 18.

"Back in Brazil, he was moulded to play in Europe. His training was much more physical than you would normally do for a young player in Brazil. I found out about that talking to him and his staff.

"He had periods training at Manchester United and Barcelona so he could be that [kind of] player. When he turned 18, he came to Europe and he seems much more ready than most Brazilian players would be at that age.

"He's not a particularly big player, but he is dealing with the physicality of the Premier League really well, and the mentality.

"He's going to be a very good player. I really have faith in him, and not just me: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang says so, Ian Wright says so…"

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