Arsenal fans have reacted on Twitter to rumours that Gabriel Martinelli and Gabriel Magalhaes have been called up to Brazil’s squad for the Tokyo Olympics, as posted by 90Min.
If Brazil progress deep into the tournament, and there’s no reason why they shouldn’t given the quality in their team, then they might play their final game on August 8.
Therefore, with Arsenal set to kick-off the 2021/22 Premier League season on August 13, when they take on Brentford on a Friday night, it’s pretty clear that the duo won’t be available for that much if Brazil progress to the finals.
It does beg the question as to who will be starting for the Gunners for that opening showdown, with fans worrying that they will be limited in those departments.
Some fear that it might be a defensive partnership of Rob Holding and Pablo Mari starting, whilst others think Willian might just end up finding his way into the starting XI.
Of course, if Arsenal bring in fresh faces before then, such as Ben White from Brighton, then Gabriel’s absence certainly won’t be much of a miss.
Brazil have named a pretty strong squad, with Everton forward Richalison and Aston Villa midfielder, Douglas Luiz also selected.
There is also Barcelona great, Dani Alves – currently playing for Sao Paulo – also picked to represent his country.
Either way, this is a big summer awaiting both Gabriel’s, with the duo enduring indifferent campaigns last time out.
Martinelli would have felt that he deserved more game time last season, whilst Gabriel started the season in a strong fashion before tailing off towards the end.
Here is a selection of Arsenal fans reacting to news about Gabriel and Martinelli:
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