Lee Dixon has been singing the praises of Arsenal attacker Gabriel Martinelli, claiming that his ability is ‘off the charts’.
Martinelli is one of Edu’s best signings during the three years he’s been at the Emirates Stadium.
The 20-year-old joined Arsenal for a bargain figure of only £6 million during the summer of 2019.
These days, the Brazilian forward is an integral part of Mikel Arteta’s senior squad and even Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has labelled him a ‘talent of the century‘.
Dixon was in a position to observe Arteta’s troops during a training session at London Colney toward the end of the 2021-22 campaign.
And the former Arsenal defender has admitted that Martinelli stood out in a massive way, commenting on his ‘exceptional’ talent.
He said to NBC Sport: “I was lucky enough to watch training toward the end of last season, specifically looking at individual players and Martinelli was off-the-charts good. He looks such an exceptional footballer. What a player.”
Gabriel Martinelli, who’s in talks over a new contract, needs to improve on his goalscoring, though.
Saturday’s 3-0 victory over Bournemouth was a perfect example, because Arsenal took the lead through Martin Odegaard, but following a saved effort that the youngster could – and should – have tucked away.
Having said that, he’s still only 20 years old.
This is a frightening talent and one who will surely become a lot better over the coming years, under Arteta in North London.
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