Has Gabriel Martinelli done enough to earn a place in Brazil’s World Cup squad?
A lot was made of the battle between Gabriel Martinelli and Trent Alexander-Arnold ahead of Arsenal’s recent clash with Liverpool at the Emirates Stadium. However, just one minute in to the thrilling encounter in north London and it was already 1-0 to the Gunners as the promising Brazilian snuck in behind the Reds’ back four and fired past compatriot Alisson to give the hosts the lead.
The 21-year-old proved a terror for the English right-back throughout the first half and played a huge part in Arsenal getting back in front after Darwin Núñez had levelled the scores in the 34th minute, assisting Bukayo Saka five minutes into injury time and forcing Jürgen Klopp to rip up his half-time notes.
Martinelli now boasts four goals and two assists in his nine league appearances at the time of writing and is well on course to better his best season to date — which was last year, when he scored six and registered six assists in 29 Premier League outings.
It’s not a bad time for the attacker to hit this kind of form, with his nation the favourites in the World Cup betting ahead of the Qatar-based tournament, and Martinelli will be hoping that Brazil head coach Tite is keeping a close eye on his progression as he dreams of earning a place in the Seleção’s 26-man squad for the trip to the Middle East.
“If you look at our attack, we have Vinicius Junior, Raphinha, Antony, Rodrygo, Cunha, Gabriel Jesus, Firmino, Richarlison and a few more besides,” Martinelli told FIFA. “They’re all really good players.
“I’m staying calm though. I’m trying to give my all for Arsenal and do all I can to help the team, which I think will help me with A Seleção. It’s Tite’s decision and we all have to respect it, whether we make the squad or not.
“I can play in all three positions up front. Last season, I even played wingback sometimes. I’ve been telling people at the club that I can even play in goal.
“The important thing is just to be in the team and to make the World Cup squad. That’s my goal, and I don’t care whether I play on the right, left or down the middle.”
Martinelli has won all three of his Brazil caps this year, making a 15-minute cameo in the 4-0 win over Chile and he was handed 36 minutes a few days later as his nation beat Bolivia by the same score line. He featured briefly again as the Samba nation edged past Japan in a friendly in June, but was left out of the squad for the most recent World Cup warm-ups against Ghana and Tunisia.
While Tite said he could still change things for the World Cup, it is something of a concern for Martinelli’s chances of featuring at the tournament that he wasn’t called up for the final couple of preparation matches. But it’s worth noting that his Arsenal teammates Jesus and Gabriel Magalhães also missed out, yet they are both expected to still make the squad.
The problem for Martinelli is that lengthy list of attackers he mentioned previously. It seems almost certain that all those players will get into the squad ahead of him, which would leave no space for the 21-year-old. Tite picked nine attackers for his recent 26-man squad, with Jesus expected to replace Flamengo’s Pedro.
Therefore, it seems unlikely that the manager is going to add Martinelli as a 10th attacking option and reduce the squad elsewhere. It’s a shame that a player of his quality could miss out on a big occasion like the World Cup, but he’s still young and we’re sure his opportunity will come if he is left at home this time.