Brazil is expected to make a few changes for its final group-stage matchup against Cameroon. After securing its place in the knockout stages of the Qatar World Cup with two wins from its first two games. Arsenal has been benefiting from Gabriel Martinelli’s talent for some time. But Brazil appears to be following suit as he prepares for another World Cup matchup against Cameroon.
Instead of making a late cameo appearance off the bench as he did against Serbia on matchday one. Arsenal star Gabriel Martinelli is expected to be one of these changes. A first start for the Selecao would mark years of arduous work coming to fruition. Despite the fact that that appearance would have undoubtedly meant the world to the Gunners ace.
Of course, any player who is able to represent their country has probably worked hard for years, but Martinelli’s rise to prominence feels a little different. There is no denying the positive vibe, but there is also a sense of…finally? Perhaps not from the outside, as some have questioned Martinelli’s inclusion in the 26-man squad since its announcement, but to those who are closest to him, this has been a long time coming.
Just ask his father, Joao, who, Martinelli claims, predicted the extremely talented forward would play for Brazil at the age of seven. He might have had an idea because Martinelli’s friends and family put in a lot of time and effort to help him get to the top of the football world. In an interview with the Players Tribune earlier this month. Martinelli discussed his father’s unconventional training methods, revealing All we had done was play on a worn-out court close to our home in Guarulhos, São Paulo.
There were no nets at all on the goals. When we got to the court, I would jump on my dad’s back and say, “Dad, let’s dribble!”Let’s have fun. He would say, “No, no.”We will exercise your left foot.’Right foot! I had just turned six! He was sincere. I would shoot and shoot and shoot and shoot because he was the goalie and threw the ball out. “Ten shots, 100 shots, 1,000 shots……”
It’s easy to forget that Martinelli was still playing for fourth-tier Brazilian club Ituano FC just three years ago. When you watch the youngster score goals for the Gunners on a regular basis this season. His story begins to diverge from that of some of his Selecao teammates at this point. At this point, Martinelli only had a brief stint at Corinthians before joining Ituano. However, his first coach told The Athletic in 2019 that Martinelli quickly established himself there.
Luiz Antonio, Martinelli’s coach at the under-15, under-17, and under-20 levels recalls. “He made a great first impression. “We did not use him in every game at the beginning because he was a year younger and much smaller than the other kids. But he would always score when he came on, and he never left the starting lineup when he did. Antonio makes the most intriguing comment of all shortly thereafter, stating. We were told when he arrived that he was “the boy with the project.”
It was made abundantly clear to anyone who came in contact with Martinelli that his only goal was to reach the highest levels of club and country competition. Martinelli must have felt crushed when the first attempt turned out to be a false dawn because he had always wanted to work in Europe.
In fact, Manchester United was the first Premier League club to acquire him. Between 2015 and 2017, they invited him to train with them on four separate occasions. The wide forward even saw some time on the bench for the Red Devils against Lincoln City under-18s, but the crucial contract offer never came. After Martinelli moved on from his disappointment with Manchester United.
He got his first taste of senior football in March 2018 with Ituano. A year and a half later, Arsenal capitalized on the mistake made by Old Trafford by taking advantage of the mistake made by United.
Martinelli, who was signed by the now-departed Unai Emery. Showed off his impressive finishing early on by scoring two goals against Standard Liege and Nottingham Forest, respectively, in his first two Arsenal games.
The then-teenager relied on fellow countryman David Luiz to teach him the ropes in north London because he had little English language skills. Martinelli started taking English lessons three times a week after training because he wanted to be the best. Until the summer of 2020, when he broke the cartilage in his knee and was out of action for five months, everything was going well. Martinelli struggled for a long time to make his way back into Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal team even after his recovery period.