Thierry Henry is Arsenal’s greatest-ever player.
The legendary Frenchman is still the Gunners’ highest goalscorer, and he holds several attacking records at the club in the Premier League and Champions League.
One of those records is on the verge of being broken now by Gabriel Martinelli.
Who is Arsenal’s fastest player right now – Gabriel Martinelli or Noni Madueke?
Gabriel Martinelli is on track to break Thierry Henry’s Champions League record at Arsenal
Martinelli has had a mixed season at Arsenal.
The Brazil international has had a quiet campaign in the Premier League. Apart from his late equaliser against Manchester City back in September, he hasn’t scored a single goal in the English top-flight.
Things have, however, been different in Europe.
Martinelli has been Arsenal’s best player in the Champions League this season. He scored six goals and provided an assist in seven appearances in the league phase, which is an extraordinary return.
What makes it even better is that Thierry Henry’s Arsenal record is within touching distance now.
The highest number of goals the Frenchman scored in a single Champions League campaign at Arsenal was seven. He did that twice, in the 2001/02 and 2002/03 seasons.
Martinelli needs just one more goal to match that record and two to break it. There is every chance he will do it this season, considering the form he is in.
That is great to see, especially as he was reportedly close to leaving Arsenal last summer – the only reason Martinelli rejected a move to Saudi Arabia was that he felt it would affect his chances of making it into Brazil’s World Cup squad.
Fill in the blank: Arsenal’s best player in the league phase of the Champions League was ____________
Gabriel Martinelli joins elite company with his Champions League goal tally
Martinelli doesn’t often get the credit he deserves because of his inconsistency.
However, the Brazilian has shown in Europe this season that he can consistently score goals irrespective of the opposition.
In fact, Martinelli has now equalled the great Eden Hazard’s goal tally in the Champions League despite playing 35 fewer games.
The Arsenal forward’s 10 goals in the competition are also more than what Alexis Sanchez managed during his time at the club.
It remains to be seen what will happen with Martinelli’s future this summer, but if he stays in Europe and continues to play Champions League football, we are convinced that his numbers will look ridiculous in a few years.
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