Arsenal star Gabriel Martinelli has shared a fantastic story about the time he met Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang on his first day at the club.
The Brazilian joined the Gunners from Ituano in the summer of 2019 – 18 months after Aubameyang made his move to the Emirates. Auba was a popular figure in the dressing room by that point, and his brilliant gesture to Martinelli made the youngster’s life so much easier.
Arsenal’s Gabriel Martinelli shares Aubameyang gesture that’ll stay with him forever
Arsenal fans aren’t fond of Aubameyang anymore and rightly so. The Gabon star has had a few unnecessary things to say since leaving the club, and we don’t feel there’s any way back from that.
However, many of our players still adore Auba, and a short story from Martinelli about the first time they met at Arsenal’s dining hall explains why.
The Brazilian told The Players’ Tribune: “When I had just arrived, I went to lunch, you arrive, and you have players like Ozil, Auba, Laca and Leno. There were big-name players only, that everyone follows, everyone likes, you are kind of…
“When you arrive from Brazil, everyone… especially I, I’m very shy and I don’t talk much. With people I already know, I’m more open, I’m more myself, but when you arrive in a place like this, it’s more difficult.
“Maybe he (Auba) doesn’t even remember this. I remember that I went to lunch, I was afraid because I didn’t speak English. I’d think: ‘Imagine if someone sat next to me and talked to me, what would I say?’
“I was even embarrassed, because the person talks, you want to talk, but you can’t. There was no one there. I sat down to eat, I said: “Great, eat calmly here”.
“Then Auba arrived soon, I thought ‘now what?’ Then he sat next to me and started talking to me in Spanish. A good guy, I think that moment was… I was very nervous. When I saw him, I thought: “Wow, he’s going to sit next to me, then I’ll finish eating and leave?”
“I thought: “I’d better eat normally because otherwise, he will see me. Then he sat next to me and started talking to me. Like, for him, it was something normal, maybe he doesn’t even remember this. But for me, arriving at the club now, Auba coming to talk to you, sitting at the table with you, it was something that will stay with me forever.”
TBR View:
As long as Aubameyang was at the club, almost every player loved him.
He was a great character in the dressing room, and even though he was on the wrong side of 30 when he left, he was someone younger players could get along with very easily.
However, Mikel Arteta was right to get rid of him. Even though he was personally a great teammate to many, his disciplinary issues set a very bad example for all the younger players. We just couldn’t have that at the club.
Auba is gone now and we’re better off without him, but we definitely appreciate what he did with Martinelli back in 2019.
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