Gabriel Martinelli has lavished praise on David Luiz and revealed that he is still missed at Arsenal.
Luiz was released by Gunners boss Mikel Arteta well over a year ago and despite only being at the Emirates Stadium from 2019 until 2021, Martinelli has claimed that his fellow Brazilian is still a massively-missed figure at Colney.
The former Chelsea defender joined Arsenal during the same transfer window as Martinelli.
And the 21-year-old, who was only 18 at the time of his transfer to North London, has revealed that the ‘sensational’ Luiz played an instrumental role in him adapting to life in England.
He told The Times: “He is a sensational man, a man who deserves everything he achieved and a person everybody here misses. He was quite important to me when I arrived, giving me advice on my moves. At that moment, I was playing more of a striker role, so I was always close to him in training sessions and he would give me guidance.”
Say what you like about Luiz as a player – and many Arsenal fans do.
He conceded his fair share of red cards and penalties during a two-year stint at the Emirates.
However, the fact that Arsenal were still considering giving him another contract extension despite his on-the-field struggles was testament to Luiz as a leader.
Behind the scenes, he played a massive role as Martinelli has testified to here and it’s easy to see why such a player remains a missed figure.
The 35-year-old returned to his native Brazil to join Flamengo last summer, whom he helped to a Copa Libertadores final but they lost 2-1.
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