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David Luiz admits that he had never heard of Gabriel Martinelli before signing for Arsenal, but says his Brazilian teammate has the mindset to continue to succeed with the Gunners.
Teen striker Martinelli came to the Emirates from Brazilian football last summer, and has impressed for a first season in English football where he has already had more opportunities than many would have imagined.
His compatriot Luiz is certainly impressed and says that his teammate is an example for other young players to follow.
“I didn’t, to be honest,” Luiz said when Gunners legend Ian Wright asked him, speaking as part of adidas’ #hometeam campaign, if he had heard of Martinelli before signing.
“But when I saw it, I said ‘Woah’.”
(Image: Action images via Reuters)
“Not only for his talent as a soccer player, especially for his mentality”
“I think he wants to improve, he wants to learn, he understands that this is the opportunity of his life.
“He wants to change his status, he wants to be part of the team, he wants to be part of the club. I think this is a very important thing that players need to understand today. “
Martinelli recently recalled his first day as an Arsenal player in an interview with FourFourTwo magazine, in which he recalled an encounter with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
(Image: AFP via Getty Images)
“When I arrived, it was lunchtime, and only Aubameyang was sitting at the table,” he said. “My first thought was, ‘F ** k!'”
“I sat next to him, a little shy, but when Auba speaks Spanish, he struck up a conversation and asked me where I was from. We had a good conversation. He met a random guy from another country, but he was very nice and wished me luck
“After that, there were some preseason evaluations in the gym. All the players were there: [Mesut] Ozil [Alexandre] Lacazette, Auba … but couldn’t speak a word of English. “Oh my gosh” was my initial reaction. “
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