Arsenal technical director Edu Gaspar has spoken to the Brazilian media this week, this time in an interview with ESPN Brasil.
The Gunners official was invited to the Resenha show, which is going on air on Friday night.
To tease viewers, ESPN has already released some of his quotes on their website. And luckily for us, it’s those where he talks about the signing of Gabriel Martinelli.
Just like Gaspar, the striker joined Arsenal in the summer of 2019. That’s why the official is heavily linked to the player’s signing, but he claims it was a team effort to get the wonderkid.
“They linked my name to Martinelli’s a lot. Even Klopp gave an interview congratulating us for the great signing and stuff. But it’s very important to emphasise that in football nobody does anything alone. There’s not only one person who signs, there’s not only one person who sells. There’s a big process behind it all.
“I don’t think that the first one who saw Martinelli was Edu. Other people saw him before, after these first people there’s another process, go to a scout, then come to me, you do an analysis, talk to the coach and the entire finance department… so the signing process is very long, the club got it right in the signing process. It’s not fair to appoint a single person.”
“Another thing: Martinelli’s dossier is absurd. There are scouts for him since the U-13 ”
Gaspar has admitted that the club didn’t expect such quick success from the teenager, and had to change the plans they had for him.
“Being very honest, the Martineli project was not for the short term, it was a little for the long term. But 100% merit of the athlete. In the pre-season he started scoring, filling eyes. Unai said he was going to be a player. He is a focused, hardworking boy, from a good family, he likes to learn… So be it! May these profiles be more successful.”
In his first season for the club, Martinelli has ten goals and four assists in 26 appearances so far. Not bad for a Brazilian who’s arrived from a non league side.
