Forget Rice and Gabriel, Bernd Leno claimed surprise Arsenal star was ‘one of the leaders’ in the dressing room under Mikel Arteta

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Mikel Arteta has built a dressing room full of big characters and leaders at Arsenal.

The Spaniard inherited a squad that was often criticised for having a weak mentality and lacking leadership.

He evidently made an effort to recruit players who could address this issue, signing captain Martin Odegaard and adding the likes of Declan Rice, Gabriel Magalhaes and Jorginho to his ranks.

However, Bernd Leno made a bold claim about another Arsenal star being a leader back in 2020, which’ll surprise most Gunners fans.

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Bernd Leno claims Gabriel Martinelli ‘was one of the leaders’ in the Arsenal dressing room

Arsenal signed an 18-year-old Gabriel Martinelli back in the summer of 2019, with the Brazilian arriving from Ituano for just £5 million as an unknown youngster.

While Martinelli’s development may have plateaued in the last two seasons, he lit up English football in his first season in N5.

Netting ten goals in the 2019/20 campaign, the starlet was one of the most highly thought of young players in the Premier League.

Speaking in an interview with Soccer AM in 2020, Arsenal’s first-choice goalkeeper at the time, Leno, revealed that despite his age, Martinelli was a leader in the Gunners dressing room.

“I think he can become a world-class player,” the German said.

“World class, 100%. He has talent, he has quality, but I think his biggest strength is his mentality because he’s working unbelievably hard.

“I remember in our bad time, when we struggled a lot, he was working so hard. He was one of the leaders, he came from nowhere. Nobody knew him before.

“To play like this, and to behave like this, it’s very good to see and I think if he keeps going like this he will be an unbelievable player.”

Gabriel Martinelli’s Arsenal statistics

Martinelli’s future at Arsenal is now in doubt, with clubs in Saudi Arabia lurking and looking to pry him to the Middle East after another slightly underwhelming season.

Leno’s generous praise of the winger demonstrates just how highly-rated he was, which explains why there has been some frustration around his stagnation.

Aside from an excellent 2022/23 season, Martinelli hasn’t been able to produce the level of output that was expected from him after he flashed signs of outstanding potential as a youngster.

Still contributing to over 70 goals in over 200 appearances for the North London club, he’ll be able to leave with his head held high if he does depart this summer.

However, Arteta may hedge his bets on the best version of Martinelli still being within the player, and keep him for another year.