For Gabriel Martinelli the passion and pain of football has always been closely linked.
When he was young, at the family home in Guarulhos, Sao Paulo, when the ball was a kind of best friend, he used to play near a bookshop with glass doors.
Each time, Martinelli would kick the ball and break the glass pan, and his mother Elizabete would replace the glass and give her boy advice: ‘Son , you will be hurt. ‘
Arsenal forward Gabriel Martinelli has spoken out about the hell injured from last season
And he did. ‘Once, I was playing and, of course, the ball broke the whole glass,’ Martinelli laughs. A splinter from the glass got stuck in one of my legs and hurt.
‘I still have the scar on my left leg to prove it happened. But I didn’t stop playing. I kept playing. The only thing that changed was, after a while, mommy stopped putting the glass in. ‘
The return of the 19-year-old Brazilian after six months out with a knee injury has been one of the most promising aspects of a gloomy start in the campaign for Arsenal. It coincided with a rise in form for Mikel Arteta’s team and three much-needed winners.
His energy and fear have given new impetus to the side and his contagious enthusiasm has helped lift the club ‘s spirits ahead of Saturday night’ s FA Cup tie with Newcastle.
‘Mikel spoke to me when I got over it,’ Martinelli explains Sportsmail. ‘Always calling me to know how I was, even when I returned to Brazil for a while in August. When the club needed me, he spoke to me again, asking if I felt ready to play.
‘I said, yes. I still feel some pain in the knee, but the doctors say it ‘s fine. I haven’t played 90 minutes yet, but it takes time too. I focus on getting better and helping Arsenal. ‘
The 19-year-old’s return from injury coincided with an increase in formwork for Mikel Arteta’s team
Martinelli and his football were always together: in school in the morning, when he played on the fields in the afternoon, while he played futsal in the evening.
When he got home, his mother would ask him to check in, which he tried. But she would find him asleep on top of the books, dreaming of the goals he would achieve the next day.
His family lived in the city of Sao Paulo, where he played in youth ranks for Corinthians until Joao’s father got a job in Itu, a smaller city in the state, with a population of about 150,000.
When he moved, he chose to join Ituano, the strongest team in the region and with the best connections throughout Brazil. His goal of becoming a professional footballer was still burning.
Martinelli made headlines with a one-run run and finish against Chelsea last campaign
Ituano, at the time, had a close relationship with Manchester United. Martinelli and his family always expected him to play in Europe. From the age of 13, the big European teams took an interest in it.
United was one of the first to invite him to auditions. He had scored 122 goals in futsal at Corinthians. At Ituano, he made just four goals in his first season, only 15 the following year in just 19 games.
‘For three or four years, I used to work at Manchester United,’ says Martinelli. ‘I would come to England, usually in the middle of the year, for about 15 or 20 days.
‘It was a great experience, because I was able to find out how European players behaved, how they defend, how they attack, how fast they play. their game.
The goal was one of the teenager’s 10 strikes in all competitions in his first year at Arsenal
‘I improved a lot and took everything back with me to Brazil, always trying to get my place in the team. My dream was to play in Europe and those practices in England helped me do it. ‘
At 16, he signed as a professional for Ituano, and, in 2019, was named ‘revealing’ of Sao Paulo state champion and was named in the tournament team of the year. He scored six goals. Despite their experience, United were not the club to make the best offer.
Arsenal paid a fee of around £ 6million to sign him from Ituano. They assured him and his family that their lives would change. At 18, he left Brazil for a lifetime, a chance to play professional football in the Premier League.
‘I couldn’t say a word in English. Of course, I felt the pressure of this move, but I had to do it. It was a dream, a dream of my family. My mom and dad helped me a lot, always by my side. I talk to them three, four times a day. ‘
Martinelli suffered a knee injury last year that kept him out for about six months
Emiliano Martinez, the goalkeeper who left Arsenal for Aston Villa at the start of this season, was a great help and influence. Martinez is Argentine and his first language is Spanish but he also speaks fluent Portuguese.
‘Emi was always by my side,’ said Martinelli. ‘Telling me what the coaches were saying. He was always helping me. Also, me and center back Gabriel Magalhaes are backed by David Luiz and Willian, part of a great Brazilian generation. ‘
Martinelli made a huge impact on the pitch in his first season in London. He won player of the month at the club in October 2019 and performed well against Chelsea, Vitoria de Guimaraes and Liverpool.
The former Ituano player has opened up to the mental crisis of suffering a long-term injury
Jurgen Klopp earned it as the ‘talent of the generation’ after his two goals in a 5-5 draw in the Carabao Cup, at Anfield, last season. The coronavirus then struck and a knee injury in training, in June, halted its rapid progression.
‘I was close to getting the ball and I was feeling a little pain on my knee,’ Martinelli recalls. ‘It wasn’t enough for me to stop working, but, while we were on the finishing session, I told them I was in pain. They told me to relax and, if I felt the pain the next day, let them know.
‘When I woke up, I felt but I could walk. I thought it was nothing at first, but it was a pain I had never felt before. I went to the club for the exams and they said it wasn’t good and I needed surgery. It broke me. I shouted a lot. ‘
Scans showed tears in the cartilage on his left knee. His grief, however, lasted only a week. He couldn’t waste time in recovering and started exercising well, eating well and preparing mentally well. He desperately wanted to get over it and the fans pushed him back.
Arsenal were developing and changing under Arteta. They won the FA Cup beating Chelsea in August in the final. Martinelli was at Wembley to support the team mates and at a celebration dinner. The pandemic meant there were no parties but, after taking part in the third round at Portsmouth, he got his first medal.
But the new season started badly and a lack of goals was one of the big problems. Arsenal were six without a win in the Premier League when Martinelli came on as a substitute for the game at Everton, last month.
It was his first high look for nine months and, three days later, he started in the Carabao Cup semi-final against Manchester City, creating the goal for Alexandre Lacazette in a 4-1 loss .
He is now three wins in a row with Martinelli starting the first two, against Chelsea and Brighton, before sitting out the case over West Bromwich Albion. His return has certainly sparked a fire in the Gunners.
On Saturday it is the FA Cup as the goalkeepers face Newcastle, the opponents when the Brazilian made his first team, in August 2019, as a late substitute for Henrikh Mkhitaryan.
‘We had a bad run going on earlier in the season,’ Martinelli said. ‘But the players never stopped running for each other. We have this strength to play every game and try to win. Now, it’s getting better for us, but we need to keep that focus if we’re going to turn this into a good season.
‘I have so many dreams in my mind, such as representing Brazil, but first I need to focus on my recovery and help Arsenal with my football. I will think about the rest after I have done that. ‘