Arsenal signing Gabriel Martinelli in 2019 is arguably Edu Gaspar’s best move as our technical director.
The teenager took the English game by storm in his debut season. He scored 10 goals and provided four assists in just 15 starts, which is a phenomenal return for any player, let alone a kid who used to play in the fourth tier of Brazilian football in the previous campaign.
Martinelli has had a really tough second season due to injuries. He has spent most of his time looking on from the sidelines, but he is still one of the Premier League’s and world football’s best young players.
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Edu and Arsenal’s scouting team deserve a ton of credit for unearthing a player of Martinelli’s quality. The Arsenal sporting director’s links in Brazil helped us get the teenager two years ago, and it now looks like we have a chance to sign another wonderkid from the Verde-Amarela this summer.
Globo Esporte revealed over the weekend that Arsenal are battling Barcelona to sign SC Internacional’s 20-year-old attacker Yuri Alberto.
The former Santos youngster is tipped by many to become the next big export from Brazil to Europe, and the report claims that he is available for just over £11 million this summer.
Yuri Alberto could become Arsenal’s new Martinelli
Like Martinelli, Alberto can play anywhere across the front line. He is Inter’s top-scorer this season with seven goals, and if you watch him closely, his style of play is very similar to that of the Arsenal man.
Alberto is fast, is an excellent dribbler, and is very composed in front of goal. He’s not the tallest attacker in the world but that hasn’t stopped him from scoring impressive headers. These are the same traits that make Martinelli as good as he is.
Brazil’s future really is bright. Neymar and co haven’t really lived up to the likes of Ronaldo, Ronaldinho and Rivaldo, but the next crop of youngsters that includes Martinelli and potentially Alberto could get close.
Arsenal don’t really need another young attacker considering we already have a fair few. However, if Edu really believes that Alberto can come in and have the kind of impact that Martinelli did, we’d be stupid to not make a move.
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