Gabriel Martinelli is with the Brazil squad at the World Cup in Qatar, but that hasn’t stopped him from representing the mighty Arsenal with Gunners-themed shin pads.
The 21-year-old has had a fine start to the season under Mikel Arteta. He has been brilliant for us, and his excellent form convinced Tite to call him up to his World Cup squad ahead of players like Roberto Firmino.
Martinelli has impressed every time he has played.
Martinelli shows off Arsenal-themed shin pads at the World Cup
Brazil and Croatia went head-to-head in the quarter-final of the World Cup this afternoon and Martinelli, unsurprisingly, was named on the bench.
The Arsenal number 11 has only started one game in the competition so far. Vinicus Jr has been preferred ahead of him, but Martinelli has caught everyone’s eye when he has been given a chance.
Against Cameroon in Brazil’s final group-stage game, Martinelli was sensational. He could’ve easily had a hat-trick, but unfortunately for him, Devis Epassy in goal channelled his inner Manuel Neuer and had an outstanding game.
Martinelli is unlikely to start a game for Brazil again in this World Cup, but he’s one of Tite’s main men off the bench these days. Every time he comes on, he’ll be wearing his Arsenal-themed shin pads – he showed them off before the game on his Instagram Stories.
One of the Brazilian’s shin pads has a picture of himself pointing at the back of his Arsenal shirt. The other is a photograph of himself celebrating a goal at the Emirates.
AFC Stuff shared the picture on their Twitter account – check it out below!
The Insider’s View:
Martinelli absolutely loves Arsenal and Gunners supporters adore him too.
The Brazilian has been exceptional for us since he joined us from Ituano back in 2019. He’s a huge fan favourite at the Emirates, and he’s just getting better and better with each day.
Martinelli, however, will have to step up big time when the Premier League returns on Boxing Day. Gabriel Jesus is set to miss about three months of football due to his injury, which weakens our attack considerably.
We’ll definitely find things more difficult without the former Manchester City man, but if Martinelli really explodes in the second half of the season, we could go on and achieve something really special.
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