Arsenal star Gabriel Martinelli started for Brazil in their 1-0 win over Paraguay.
The 23-year-old has consistently been called up to the international squad over the last two years, but he has never been a regular starter.
His last start before Tuesday night came in June 2024 – exactly 367 days ago. It had been a long wait, but Carlo Ancelotti finally gave Martinelli his chance.
The Arsenal man played the full 90 minutes on the left wing.
Brazilian media react to Arsenal star Gabriel Martinelli’s performance against Paraguay
It has always been difficult for Gabriel Martinelli to start games for Brazil.
The Arsenal number 11 has mostly been viewed as a winger, and he has had to fight for a place in the side with Vinicius Jr, who is one of the best players in the world.
That is the reason why he has started just five games for Brazil in his career – the most recent of which came against Paraguay late on Tuesday night.
Martinelli played the full 90 minutes for Ancelotti’s side, and he showed flashes of his brilliance. He even came close to scoring an outrageous goal, but narrowly missed.
A few Brazilian media outlets have had their say on the Arsenal star.
Globo Esporte gave Martinelli a 6/10 rating and wrote: “A starter for the national team after a year, the forward played wide on the left flank and sought individual plays.
“He had a good chance in the 31st minute of the second half, but was unable to take advantage of the rebound from a shot by Raphinha. He seemed to feel physically tired in the final stage.”
Terra rated him 7/10 and said: “Very involved, he created great plays on the left side. In one-on-one situations, he had a clear advantage over his markers. However, he lacked a little more precision in his crosses.”
Carlo Ancelotti has corrected the mistake he made with Gabriel Martinelli
The game against Paraguay was Ancelotti’s second fixture in charge of Brazil.
In his debut game against Ecuador, his side were held to a 0-0 draw – Martinelli started on the bench and only came on in the second half.
The big mistake Ancelotti made was using Martinelli as a right-winger when he was brought on. That is not his best position at all.
The Arsenal man should play either on the left flank or as a centre-forward, and with Vinicius on Tuesday night, Martinelli showed his ability to play both roles by interchanging.
That shows that Ancelotti has corrected his mistake, and we hope he will use Martinelli in one of those two positions going forward.
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