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Football London
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Art De Roche

The story behind Gabriel Martinelli's celebration after incredible solo goal at Chelsea

Gabriel Martinelli has gone into detail about the story behind his celebration at Chelsea and what made it so special.

The 18-year-old has been a shining light for Arsenal this season despite the struggles the club endured before Mikel Arteta's arrival in January.

Taking the move to north London in his stride, he became the first teenager to reach double figures in goals since Nicolas Anelka when he netted his 10th of the year at Stamford Bridge.

Although the game ended with Arsenal coming away with one point rather than three, the circumstances in which they got the result stick out to Martinelli.

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"I think the highlight so far was in the Chelsea game. I scored the equaliser and it was a very happy moment for me, not just because of the goal, but because of the performance with 10 men. I think it was very important for the team," he told the official Arsenal App.

"As for what I want to achieve, I've already said that I want to make history at this club. I want to become a legend, score lots of goals and win trophies for the club and the fans, who I'm very grateful to for everything they've done for me."

The Brazilian's goal stands out as a pivotal moment from the game. With Arsenal 1-0 down after an hour, he sprinted 67 yards in 13 seconds to level the scores and bring the Gunners right back into the game.

What followed was a celebration which fast-became one of the most celebrated moments of the season for Arsenal fans. Having just torn the Blues apart, he stood there emotionless, staring at the travelling fans before crossing his arms.

Observant watchers saw that a fan had done the exact same just seconds before Martinelli and felt he may have copied the fan, but that wasn't the case.

"Many people think I looked at the fans and saw a guy with his arms crossed but I didn't. When I celebrated after scoring, I didn't notice him doing that," Martinelli added.

"I already had the idea of celebrating like that if I scored. It was funny because I'd said to my mother the night before that I was going to score. She was making dinner and I was in the kitchen with her and my father and I said to her that I was going to score and asked what she thought about celebrating like that.

"She said, 'Go for it!"

"I had that celebration in my head if I scored and it wasn't to do with seeing that guy doing it. I already had it in my head that I was going to do it."

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