In an exclusive interview with ESPN Brasil, Arsenal forward Gabriel Martinelli has revealed his ambition to stay at the club for his entire playing career.
The 20-year-old joined the Gunners as a relatively unknown from Ituano in 2019. He had a promising debut season with 10 goals before suffering a long-term knee injury.
Under manager Mikel Arteta, Martinelli hardly played in the Premier League last term after his comeback, but things have paved differently for him during the current campaign.
The Brazilian awas initially out of the starting plans of Arteta, but managed to capitalise in early December with Emile Smith Rowe being sidelined with a minor injury.
Martinelli has since not looked back with several stand-out performances. He has missed just one league game ever since. It was due to the suspension against Wolves.
The youngster is currently contracted to the London giants until June 2024 with the option for another year, but he is clearly committed to the club for the long-term.
He told ESPN Brasil: “We have a young group, we have a lot of time ahead of us, players with a lot of quality, I think we will achieve great things. Our focus is the Champions League.”
“Fighting for that top four. A club like Arsenal has to be in the Champions League. It’s our total focus. We always want more. Of course, Arsenal are a giant team.
“If I can, I’ll stay here my whole life. I want to conquer things, as I said, I want to stay here and win titles, with these wonderful fans, my teammates.”
Martinelli has bagged four goals and two assists from 16 league appearances this season. Aside from his goal contributions, he has played a key part in the build-up play.
The £25.2m star should only get better with age and experience. Things are looking pretty promising for the Gunners at the moment with the emergence of several young stars.
Bukayo Saka and Emile Smith Rowe have also excelled in attack while Martin Odegaard has proved a fantastic recruit after being signed permanently from Real Madrid.
Arsenal are currently sixth in the Premier League standings with 45 points. They are just two points adrift of fourth-placed Manchester United with three games in hand.
Their Champions League destiny is well within their own hands. They could jump to fourth in the league table by the end of Sunday if the other results go in their favour.
