Premier League underachievers Arsenal pulled off an inspired piece of business when they brought Gabriel Martinelli to the Emirates last summer.
David Luiz admits that he had never heard of Gabriel Martinelli before the fellow Brazilian joined him at Arsenal last summer but the teenager’s raw potential has left him awestruck, speaking to Football London.
It’s fair to say Luiz is not the only man who was taken aback when the Gunners were first linked with a then-17-year-old forward last year.
After all, Martinelli had not even made a single league appearance for FC Ituano before his £7 million move to North London. But, in less than 12 months, this jet-heeled forward has been transformed from an unknown quantity into a lethal finisher that even Jurgen Klopp calls ‘the talent of the century’.
In 26 games, Martinelli has already hit the target ten times for Arsenal while earning comparisons with Brazil’s World Cup winning legend Ronaldo.
“No, I didn’t, to be honest,” former Chelsea and PSG ace Luiz says when asked if he was aware of the Samba starlet this time last year.
“But when I saw him, I said ‘Woah’.”
Woah. That sort of reaction has come hand in hand with Martinelli’s explosive performances during a staggering debut season on English shores. There was that EFL Cup brace against Liverpool, that stunning double against Standard Liege, that Ryan Giggs-style solo effort against Chelsea.
So, if Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is lured away from the Emirates this summer, maybe Arsenal already have a replacement in their ranks.
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