Gabriel Martinelli: Arsenal’s boy from Brazil overlooked by giants

Gabriel Martinelli, 18, arrived in London with his family in tow sure of his mission to become the world’s best.

Arsenal’s Brazilian teenager Gabriel Martinelli has the chance to impress new boss Mikel Arteta following the suspension of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. Picture: Getty Images

It was in 2004, on a dusty five-a-side pitch close to the family home in the southeast of Brazil that Gabriel Martinelli took his first steps in football.

Martinelli’s father, Joao, had been waiting for this moment ever since his son had been born three years earlier. For hours they kicked a ball around the field and, from that point, Joao’s wish was to one day see his son play in Europe.

Fifteen years on and Joao is sitting alongside his wife Elizabete in their new house in Hertfordshire, 6000 miles from home, where that target has been reached prematurely.

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Martinelli, now 18, signed for Arsenal from Brazilian club Ituano in the summer and, despite already working under three head coaches in six months, his impact in north London was immediate, with seven goals in his first seven appearances.

“There was absolutely no fear about coming here,” Joao, 58, said. “Gabriel didn’t really think twice because it was an opportunity to play at a fantastic club. He had always aspired to play in Europe as early as possible so there was not much doubt on our part.”

A skilful dribbler with a clinical finish and remarkable pace, Martinelli broke into Unai Emery’s first team and continued to impress when the Spaniard was sacked in November. Martinelli scored his first Premier League goal, against West Ham United, under interim coach Freddie Ljungberg but has featured only twice from the substitutes’ bench since Mikel Arteta was appointed as Emery’s permanent successor.

But an opportunity has arisen. Arteta has challenged his players to replace the suspended Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, with Martinelli one of the contenders to start against Sheffield United on Saturday night (AEDT) in the Premier League. This was one of the competitions Joao and Martinelli would watch together back in Brazil, and where the boy’s idol, Cristiano Ronaldo, evolved into a superstar.

“When Gabriel was growing up there wasn’t as much access to all the European leagues on TV as there is now,” Joao said. “We watched the Spanish and English leagues when they were on but the Italian championship was one of the more shown leagues at the time.

“For a boy from Brazil, watching the games in Europe was like a show. He would look at these fantastic leagues and players like Ronaldo. The way Ronaldo used to dribble with the pace up and down the pitch, Gabriel identified with him a lot.”

Joao and Elizabete raised their only child in Guarulhos, a densely populated city on the outskirts of Sao Paulo. Guarulhos had all sections of society, with poor favelas and affluent areas, but Joao describes their home as a “humble neighbourhood”. Joao and Elizabete worked in a nearby steel plant making tools while Martinelli attended school. He was comfortable with most subjects, enjoyed maths and Portuguese but not the homework. He preferred to be outside with a ball. It was a normal, happy upbringing.

“He was the type of child every parent would want,” Joao said. “He was respectful and would listen to everything we said to him, a very obedient boy.”

When Martinelli was not playing football, Elizabete recalls him with friends in their back garden battling in a traditional Brazilian game of kite wars, where they would try to knock each other’s kite out of the sky. Martinelli was six years old at the time and had just joined Corinthians.

Like most talented Brazilians, he played futsal up until the age of 10. His touch and ability in tight spaces, on show at the Emirates this season, was honed through playing indoor five-a-side football with the heavier ball. Joao says Martinelli was always the standout player, and that continued when he shifted to the 11-a-side game on a bigger pitch.

At the age of 14, the family moved to the inland city of Itu after Joao retired. Martinelli signed with Ituano and it was at this point that his move to Europe looked more likely. The family did everything they could to make it possible. Due to his father’s heritage, Martinelli was able to get an Italian passport, which made it easier for him to travel to the northwest of England when he was invited to trial at Manchester United.

Over three years Martinelli flew to Manchester four times and spent 10 days at the club’s Carrington training ground on each visit. But the communication went quiet, United’s interest in Martinelli ceased.

Then, another European giant came calling. In October 2018, the family received an invitation from Barcelona for Martinelli to go to La Masia. Martinelli spent 15 days at the club’s academy, playing and training with the youth teams. He did well but, as with United, there was no further interest. Yet the hopes of the family remained as scouts continued to monitor Martinelli’s progress. For the family, it was a case of where rather than if.

“Right about the time he came back from Barcelona there was quite a bit of interest from Arsenal,” Joao said. “They had scouts in South America and they started to follow him closely.”

An offer was made and accepted by Ituano. The family live together in a house in Potters Bar, 15 minutes from Arsenal’s training ground.

At Arsenal, Martinelli has formed a friendship with fellow South American Emiliano Martinez, the club’s back-up goalkeeper. Martinez, 27, has helped the teenager settle into life in the Premier League and the impact has been seen on the pitch. Martinelli has emerged as one of the club’s finest young talents. Joao’s hopes of seeing his son play in Europe have already been fulfilled, but for Martinelli there is a long way to go.

“His focus is giving 100 per cent, which people can see in his games,” Joao said. “He dreams of getting to the absolute top of his profession and being the best player in the world.”

THE TIMES