Arsenal starlet Gabriel Martinelli is finally ready to make his debut for Brazil.
The striker, who already had caps for the country’s U-23 squad and even featured for them in the Olympics, still hadn’t been called up for the first team, and that raised doubts about his future.
That’s because Martinelli has Italian citizenship, and that would allow him to play for the Azzurri.
However, now in the squad for the upcoming games of the South American World Cup Qualifiers, he’s set to put an end to this story.
The 20-year-old Arsenal man was today interviewed by Brazilian outlet Globo Esporte, and had a word about the decision. He claims that when national team official Juninho Paulista went to speak to him in 2020, that changed everything.
“It made a big difference when Juninho came to my house and talked to me and my family. It made me very happy to know I was on the radar. I just tried to do my job and do my best at Arsenal to get to that moment,” Martinelli told Globo Esporte.
“I had already put that aside. As I’ve said before, my dream was to play for Brazil, I was just waiting for the opportunity to play for Brazil.”
Martinelli talked about his favourite positions on the pitch, as it will not be easy for him to find a place in such a competitive sector in the national team.
“I prefer to play on the sides, the left side specifically. But I also like to get a lot in the box with a chance to finish, so if the ball is left I’ll be in a good condition to score. I can also play on the right side, but my favourite position is on the left wing, infiltrating and being as close to the goal as possible.”
The attacker was also quizzed about Arsenal’s hunt for titles, claiming he sees the Gunners winning big things in a near future.
“We had a very big reformulation, our team has a lot of young people, 23, 20 years old… We have a future ahead of us, if we keep this team, we can fight for titles in the following seasons, we will fight for that. This season we will fight for fourth place, to go to the Champions League, and then fight for the Champions League.”
