Gabriel Martinelli, a forward for Arsenal, said that boss Mikel Arteta has helped him stay positive over the past few months.

The skilled Brazilian flyer had a rough start to the season, but he scored his third goal of the season in Sunday’s 1-1 draw with Chelsea, which earned him a call-up to the national team.

Martinelli has kept his spot as a first-team starter, even though Raheem Sterling is competing with him. He hasn’t quite reached the heights he reached for Arsenal in 2022–23, though.

For his part, Arteta will be hoping that the goal against Chelsea is proof that his hard work is paying off.

Martinelli says, “Arteta has been very important in my football development.” “I was 19 when he joined the club, so the whole team, not just me, went through a process.”

His help with my game was very important. I used to use my right foot to handle the ball when I was on the left side, but he told me not to. Use your left hand to try to control the ball and seize the chances that come up. I do it every time now because of that day, so it’s really simple for me.

Now 23, Martinelli learned how to play futsal on the courts in his home country of Brazil when he was six years old. That’s where Corinthians saw him and signed him. He still uses the things he learned there.

Futsal was a big part of how I got better at football. There isn’t much room on the court, so you have to think quickly. It all goes faster.

It is always recorded that Martinelli is Arsenal’s fastest player, but he himself says that Kieran Tierney is the fastest player at the club. Still, the fact that he uses the skills he learned in futsal and runs so fast makes him tough for Premier League teams to stop. He does say that some players stop him in his tracks, though.

“Kyle Walker at City and Ibrahim Konate at Liverpool are both very tough to beat,” I said. It has to do with feeling. I look at them and their body and try to beat them.

“It’s just instinct. You don’t think much because you don’t have time. It’s all done by instinct.”

Martinelli was also honest with Men in Blazers about how frustrated he was that he wasn’t taking advantage of more of his chances to score this season.

“It’s hard when you play up front and don’t score,” he says. “We want to score and help the team. That’s what we do. We have to score goals, but sometimes you can’t, so I just think positively and work harder.” 

“It’s different emotionally when you score after not scoring for a while; it feels really good, it’s better, it’s fun.”

Martinelli still thinks Arsenal will have a big role in the title race, even though they’ve had some problems.

“Our team is really good. We’ve been in second place for two years in a row, so we know what we’re good at.” We need to keep our cool. It’s early in the season, but we know it will last a long time. We know it will be hard to win all of our games and become winners, but we believe in ourselves and are going for it.

Arteta brought Win the club dog along to show his unwavering support for his team, and he will be right behind them the whole way.

Martinelli laughs and says, “Everyone loves Win the dog.” “I think Ben White and Kai Havertz love her the most because they walk her and take her home with them.” Everyone at the training ground loves having her around, but Ben loves her the most.