Gabriel Martinelli, an Arsenal player, won plaudits from the Brazilian media following his first goal for his senior team in their 2-1 loss to Colombia.
Many Arsenal supporters were aware that Gabriel Martinelli scored his first goal for Brazil in the wee hours of Friday (UK time) while playing as a center striker.
Since Gabriel Jesus has been out since October 24th due to a hamstring injury, and Richarlison is out with an injury, the Gunners’ number 11 was given the chance to start for the Selecao in the World Cup qualifier against Colombia.
Repaying Fernando Diniz’s confidence right away, Martinelli broke the tie after just four minutes by finishing off Vinicius Junior’s cut back inside the penalty area to give Brazil the lead. Despite the fact that the visitors lost, Globo Esporte, a media outlet, was quite impressed with the performance of the Arsenal player.
“He scored for the first time in his eighth game wearing the Seleção shirt – only his second as a starter,” they said, giving him a 7/10 grade. Not just because of his goal, he was among the best in Brazil.
It goes without saying that some Arsenal supporters are talking about Martinelli playing center forward for the team on social media. With the exception of a few matches where he played on the right side of a three-man attack, the Brazilian has spent the majority of his tenure at Emirates Stadium playing from the left wing.
However, he has demonstrated his ability to play down the middle for Brazil. Mikel Arteta won’t be as surprised by this as he previously disclosed his aim to develop Martinelli in two positions and tried the 22-year-old as the center of the attack against Newcastle United near the end of the 2020–21 season.
They all performed pretty well, in my opinion. Gabi gets better every week. In the news conference following the game, the Spaniard stated, “He’s using his minutes wisely. “He’s progressing as we all think he can. He attempted to play him as a no. 9 today, and he also had an assist and some strong moments on the left.
“We’ll see in time. But since I believe he has the ability to do both, I would like to see him flourish in both roles.
It’s interesting to note that when Jesus injuredly returned from World Cup duty less than a year ago, Arteta did have the option to deploy Martinelli as a striker. Eddie Nketiah ultimately benefited, but the change was not feasible since there were not enough available wingers at the time, as Emile Smith Rowe and Reiss Nelson were sidelined.
Fast forward to today and Martinelli has had opportunities to lead Arsenal’s line in recent weeks thanks to Jesus and #039; absent, but Nketiah and Leandro Trossard seem to be above him in the pecking order, not to mention how well he played spread out. Although, given what the 22-year-old has previously said about his preferred position, it may take a complete turnaround or some very good persuasion from Artetaand#039;s Gunners supporters to secure a permanent spot. The role of the Brazilian national team is changing. andquot;I prefer to play on the side, especially on the left,andquot; Martinelli said last year speaking to Globo Esporte. andquot;But I also like to hit the box a lot when there’s a chance to score, so if the ball stays, I’m in a good position to score. I can also play on the right side, but my preferred position is on the left side, penetrating and being as close to the goal as possible.andquot;