Tim Vickery feels it is ‘not a complete shock’ that Tite has elected to omit Arsenal forward Gabriel Martinelli from his Brazil squad while the Selecao prepare for the Qatar World Cup.
Brazil snub ‘not a complete shock’ for Arsenal star Gabriel Martinelli
South American football expert Tim Vickery has noted in his column for ESPN that Gabriel Martinelli’s snub from Brazil’s last team before the 2022 World Cup in Qatar is not a shock. Instead, Tite’s decision is just a case of the Selecao having too many wide attackers to use.
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Tite raised a few eyebrows in Europe by leaving Martinelli out of his plans ahead of Brazil’s friendlies with Ghana and Tunisia. The Selecao play their final fixtures before the 22nd Fifa tournament this November and December with games in France on September 23 and 27.
Martinelli would have hoped to stay a part of the Brazil unit to secure his seat on the plane to Qatar. The 21-year-old earned his first senior call up and made his debut against Chile in March, while also facing Bolivia. He also played once over their June fixtures against Japan.
Tite only used Martinelli sparingly during his first three caps for Brazil, with a combined 78 minutes from three substitute appearances. He also did not see the Gunners star find the net or lay on an assist, despite beating both Chile and Bolivia 4-0 before edging Japan 1-0.
The Premier League has seen a more productive version of Martinelli over his six games as a mainstay of Mikel Arteta’s plans so far this season. He has struck three goals as the club’s joint-top scorer with Gabriel Jesus and Martin Odegaard and played a total of 524 minutes.
Tim Vickery not shocked to see Martinelli left at home for final friendlies
Yet Vickery is not shocked Tite has omitted Martinelli, leaving him at Arsenal whilst Brazil prepare for a World Cup. The Selecao boss called Antony, plus Roberto Firmino, Matheus Cunha, Neymar, Pedro, Raphinha, Richarlison, Rodrygo and Vinicius Junior into his squad.
“The omission of Gabriel Martinelli is not a complete shock, which is in no way a reflection of the young striker’s ability,” Vickery wrote.
“Brazil have more options in the wide forward position than they can possibly use, and so competition is fierce. Good club displays could still save his World Cup place.”
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