Freddie Ljungberg has admitted he is ‘extremely excited’ by Gabriel Martinelli at Arsenal.
Martinelli came off the bench to score what was effectively the winner for Arsenal in last night’s 3-1 win away to Crystal Palace.
The 19-year-old Brazilian only came on in the 78th minute but scored in additional time to make it 2-1, before Nicolas Pepe added another one shortly after.
Ljungberg worked with Martinelli during his time as Arsenal’s caretaker boss, in between Unai Emery’s sacking and Mikel Arteta’s arrival, but the legendary Swedish winger has also spent time at London Colney coaching the Gunners’ young players.
And Ljungberg, who won two Premier League titles in North London, claims that Martinelli is a ‘very special’ talent.
He told BT Sport: “He’s very special and he’s a lovely boy as well. You hear how he speaks, of course he’s disappointed he’s not starting, it’s been a while. I’m extremely excited about him, he’s not what you see every day, he has that feeling when he goes and something different happens.”
Arteta said after the win at Selhurst Park that Martinelli was very close to earning first-team football on a regular basis under him.
He has started just the seven Premier League games for Arsenal this season and when you consider how often he produces a bit of magic off the bench, it has surprised some fans that Martinelli hasn’t featured in more starting lineups this season.
But it’s worth remembering that he’s only 19 and his time will surely come next season.
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