Brazil international winger wonderkid Gabriel Martinelli signs new long-term contract with Arsenal..

2023-02-04 10:12

Brazil international winger wonderkid Gabriel Martinelli signs new long-term contract with Arsenal..




Arsenal announced on their official website on Friday that the club has extended the contract of the club's Brazil international winger Gabriel Martinelli.


According to Arsenal's official statement, Martinelli has signed on a new long-term four-year deal with the club which runs until the summer of 2027 with an option for another year.


After completing his contract renewal procedures, Martinelli, who was interviewed by Arsenal's official website again said: "I feel great and I am very happy to get a new contract. I want to do my best for the team and the fans and give back to them as well as make them proud."


"I've said it many times, I love everything about Arsenal. I love the city, I love my teammates, I love the fans, I love this club and I will do my best for this club."


"I remember being very, very nervous when I first arrived and couldn't even speak a single word of English! What's even worse is that you couldn't even talk to other people, and I remember I couldn't understand anything they said to me .”


"I still remember how proud and happy I was when I got the jersey and saw the badge. Now when I put it on, I still feel that way."


"We've got to win some titles and I think not just me, but for our fans, everyone in the locker room wants to win games."


"To the fans, I just want to say thank you for all the support. They have been fantastic for me this season. The atmosphere on and off the pitch this season has been unbelievable and I just want to say thank you. I will be give 100 per cent to this club every day."


Martinelli, who is only 21 years old, was born in Guarulhos, Brazil on June 18, 2001. He is 1.78 meters tall and has dual nationality of Brazil and Italy. He primarily plays as a winger, but he can also play as a center forward.


Martinelli played for the youth academy of Campeonato Brasileiro Série A giants Corinthians from 2010 to 2014 when he was young. Later, he resolutely left the club in 2015 and moved to the Brazilian second division club Ituano's youth academy in order to get a better chance to be promoted to the first-team.


After joining Ituano, Martinelli had trials with Manchester United and Barcelona, but he did not choose to join any of those clubs because he was too young at the time. After returning to the club, Martinelli, who was 16 years old and 9 months old at the time, completed his Ituano first-team debut in March 2018, and even broke the team history record and became the team's youngest player in the 21st century.


After helping the club beat Red Bull Bragantino in an upset and advance to the quarter-finals of the São Paulo Cup, Martinelli began to receive the attention of more big clubs in the European Big 5 leagues.


In July 2019, Martinelli joined Arsenal for £6 million. Originally, he was scheduled to receive further training with the Arsenal U21s team, but he was directly kept in the first-team due to his outstanding performances during the pre-season warm-up matches and he soon led his team to win an FA Cup.


Since joining, Martinelli, who has always caused problems for the opponent's defense with superb speed, technique and explosiveness, is not only the future star recognized by Arsenal fans, but also Liverpool head coach Jürgen Klopp and Manchester City head coach Pep Guardiola, two of football's world-class coaches have also repeatedly praised the talents of the Brazilian wonderkid.


During the first half of this season, Martinelli had played 27 times for the Gunners who have the potential to set become the Premier League and the Europa League double winning side across all competitions, scoring 7 goals and assisting 3 times.