Arsenal attacker Gabriel Martinelli has been at the Emirates since July 2019 when he signed for a fee of £6 million from Brazilian club Ituano.
He has spent the majority of his senior career with the Gunners and has now made over 130 appearances in red and white scoring 34 goals in five years.
Despite his experience for Arsenal, Martinelli is just 23 years old and under contract until June 2027 by which time, his value is likely to increase from its current mark of £50 million. (Estimate from TransferMarkt)
This season so far, after seven Premier League matches, Martinelli has made seven appearances, scoring two goals and two assists as Mikel Arteta’s side look to de-throne Manchester City.
Martinelli’s youth career in Brazil before moving to Arsenal
Gabriel Martinelli began his footballing journey in 2010 when he was just nine years old at Corinthians’ futsal team before earning himself trials with Manchester United and Barcelona.
Following his trials, Martinelli signed with Ituano in 2015 aged 14 but it wasn’t until 2017 that the winger signed his first professional contract with the club.
He made his debut aged just 16 becoming the youngest player to play for Ituano in the past century at the club. He ended up making just 17 appearances for the club, scoring six goals and two assists before Arsenal moved for him.
The Gunners came in with an offer for Martinelli which Ituano accepted resulting in a move from Brazil to the Emirates Stadium.
Gabriel Martinelli was quick off the mark at the Emirates
It didn’t take long for the winger to make an impact at Arsenal as he scored a brace in his first competitive start for the Gunners in a 5-0 win over Nottingham Forest in the EFL Cup.
Unai Emery quickly became a fan of Martinelli who ended his first season at the Emirates having made 26 appearances, scoring 10 goals and four assists aged just 18.
He also helped the Gunners to win an FA Cup title in his first year with Arsenal and became the first teenager to hit double-digit goals in a season for Arsenal since Nicolas Anelka.
Since then, Martinelli established himself as a key part of the Gunners’ starting XI under Mikel Arteta who starts him alongside England international Bukayo Saka on the wings.
Becoming a regular starter for Brazil
Martinelli’s performances pre-Arsenal warranted his first international call-up in 2019 at the age of 18 for preparatory training before 2019’s Copa America.
However, he had to wait until 2022 to make his international debut, as he came on for Real Madrid star Vinicius Jr against Chile in March.
Martinelli then made the 2022 World Cup team for Brazil where he appeared in all three of Brazil’s group games. He scored his first international goal in November 2023.
The winger now has 14 international caps for Brazil scoring twice in that time. He is slowly becoming a more regular starter for Dorival Junior’s Brazil side.
He last featured as a substitute during Brazil’s 2-1 win over Chile during the October international break where he came on for the closing minutes of the game.
Three things you didn’t know about the Arsenal star
Gabriel Martinelli was able to pick which national team he played for as he was born and raised in Brazil, but his father is Italian, meaning that the 23-year-old could have opted to play for Italy. However, as he grew up in Brazil, Martinelli stuck with his country of birth despite the Italian family links.
Furthermore, Martinelli is very close to his parents and has said that they are his inspiration for his success in football, however, he does have a former Premier League idol.
The winger idolises former Manchester United and Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo as he likes to play with skill and panache when attacking down the wing.
Seeing as Martinelli was just 18 when he moved to Arsenal, both of his parents decided to leave Brazil and move with him leaving their lives behind.
Speaking in an interview for Arsenal’s club website, he said: “My parents moved over with me at the start, just for the first eight or nine months to help me settle in and get used to it.
“They stayed with me to help with the adaptation and a new house. I was just 18 remember – I didn’t know anything about life!”
Martinelli’s mother is still currently staying with him although the winger has certainly settled well to life in the Premier League and at the Emirates Stadium.
