Martinelli on fine form and early Arsenal memories

Gabriel Martinelli is really enjoying our run of four wins in a row, and feels he is delivering his best performances of the season.

Having scored three of his seven goals of the season so far in our last four matches, Gabriel is beginning to get on the scoresheet with more frequency.

Recently, the Brazilian sat down with the Premier League for one of their Big Interviews, where he discussed all aspects of his life and career to date, as well as his recent exploits.

“The team’s dynamic is really good, especially following the Liverpool win,” he explained. “We knew that they were one of our direct rivals, but right after that game we started thinking about West Ham right away.

“I think that we’d lost the last two games in the cup and in the league at home as well. We had been struggling against them and this 6-0 win was very important. We put in a performance which everyone did well in. I’m very happy with our current situation.

“As for myself, I think I’m getting into the groove now. I had an injury at the start of the season which hindered me a bit. Now I’m back to 100%, scoring goals again, confident and the lads always help me. I believe that we’ll achieve many good things this season.”

Asked to reflect on his time at Arsenal, from originally being offered to sign from Ituano to reaching the first team, he recalled: “I remember I was getting a run of games and I spoke to my dad, who told me to leave all the rumours to one side as it won’t do me any favours. Just concentrate on playing well and see what happens afterwards.

“I also spoke to my agents who were of the same opinion. I finished off the season, I had to make my decision before a game against Guarani. I was told that Arsenal wanted to sign me and when I was told that one of the biggest clubs in the world wanted to it swayed my decision and I decided to join Arsenal.

“I was promoted from the under-23s, trained with the first team, and it was Unai Emery who decided that I would be part of the first team. I was involved in pre-season and I knew that I had to do my best to have a chance to at least be part of the first-team squad, so I gave it absolutely everything. It was a chance that I could not squander.

“When I was promoted, it’s funny because Henrikh Mkhitaryan had to translate for me. There was David Luiz, Emi Martinez. When I wasn’t speaking with them, Mkhitaryan spoke a bit of Portuguese.”

Watch the full 25-minute interview with Gabriel where he also discusses his early years in the game, his pride of representing Brazil, family life and much more by pressing play on the video above.