Arsenal fans were forced to wait until the 87th minute for Gabriel Martinelli to appear at the World Cup for Brazil, shortly after Neymar suffered an injury.
At first, Tite’s withdrawal of the £200m man seemed precautionary, although some huge news has now emerged which could provide the aforementioned Arsenal No.11 with a big opportunity.
What’s the story?
Well, according to Globo Esporte, both Neymar and Danilo will now miss the rest of the group stage after suffering injuries in the 2-0 win over Serbia.
Tite could now choose to push Lucas Paqueta into a No.10 role and bring Bruno Guimaraes or Fred into midfield alongside Casemiro, or he could throw Rodrygo Goes into the starting XI.
However, the absence of Neymar could also see Martinelli given more of a window to showcase his talents on the world stage, as the frontline now has one less player for him to compete against.
The 21-year-old will have to work very hard in training to impress Tite and get ahead of the more experienced internationals in the Brazil squad, seeing as he has only won four caps so far.
Having said that, Martinelli does seem to be shining in training, with footage released showing the Arsenal wonderkid running rings around Fabinho, scoring some incredible goals.
Gabriel Martinelli deserves minutes after Neymar injury
In our view, Martinelli deserved to come on earlier than the 87th minute against Serbia as a result of his exceptional form for Arsenal this season, and hopefully, he is given more opportunities across the remaining matches in Group G.
The South American has scored five goals and provided two assists in 14 Premier League appearances so far this term, and his tenacious, brave playing style down the left flank would cause chaos for Brazil.
Vinicius Junior has that area nailed down, although he and Martinelli have both played centrally for Real Madrid and Arsenal respectively at times, and they are talented enough to gel together in the attack.
Nobody in the Brazil squad will be pleased to see Neymar injured, although if it ends up propelling Martinelli onto the world stage in Qatar, the Arsenal gem will see it as a blessing in disguise.
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