Arsenal are producing both on and off the pitch, with recent news emerging from the Emirates Stadium which will surely please the supporters.
Mikel Arteta has managed to tie down Gabriel Martinelli to a new long-term contract, and the Gunners boss will now be looking forward to seeing the 21-year-old’s continued development after lavishing praise on the forward upon confirmation of that internal deal.
Arteta said: “Gabi is still very young, so we know there’s still much more to come from him. Our supporters see his quality and energy every single time he puts on the shirt and he’s the same every day in training, with his hard work and positive values.
“We’re now excited to continue to develop his huge talent and look forward to seeing him perform with Arsenal in the years to come.”
The Brazilian arrived in north London in 2019 for a fee of just £6m, and the next three-and-a-half years have seen the youngster embark on a journey as one of the finest wingers in the Premier League, and possibly even Europe.
Since joining Arsenal, Martinelli has played 112 times for the club, scoring 25 goals and registering 16 assists. He has been truly excellent during the current campaign as the 21-year-old has played an integral part in Arteta’s men forging clear at the summit of the league table.
Across 20 top-flight appearances, the winger has achieved a Sofascore rating of 7.09/10, ranking him as the club’s sixth-best performer this term. He has scored seven times, added two assists and created six big chances while making 1.9 key passes per match to underline just how crucial he has been for the Gunners in proving his attacking qualities.
He is still developing and clearly isn’t the finished article yet, but the CIES Football Observatory have valued the winger at €100m (£90m), and it’s abundantly clear that Arsenal have struck gold with the signing of Martinelli.
If he keeps up his high level of performance until the end of the season, there could be plenty of suitors lining up to try and prise him away from London. However, by tying him down to a new contract, Arteta has some degree of leverage which can be used to prevent him from departing anytime soon.
Jurgen Klopp previously dubbed the youngster the “talent of the century”, and as excellent as Martinelli has been this season, he should still be nowhere near his peak, which is a frightening prospect for every defender in the Premier League.
Signing Jorginho, Jakub Kiwior and Leandro Trossard was all good business by Arteta last month, but tying Martinelli down for the next four years arguably trumps them all.
