Tite has revealed that Gabriel Martinelli's "consistency" was a key reason behind why the Arsenal star was selected in the Brazil squad for the World Cup later this month.
The 21-year-old has been in excellent form for the Gunners this season, netting five goals and grabbing two assists in the Premier League to help his side to the top of the table after 13 matches. It has been terrific start to the campaign for Martinelli and he has been rewarded with a place in the Brazil squad for the tournament.
Gunners teammate Gabriel Jesus has also been selected in the squad that will travel to Qatar ahead of their first game of the tournament on November 24. Brazil will face Serbia in their opening match, before facing Switzerland and Cameroon as Tite's side go into the competition as one of the favourites.
Manchester United star Antony has also been chosen to represent his country at the tournament, while Richarlison, Bruno Guimaraes and Lucas Paqueta are among the other Premier League stars to be selected for Brazil. Tite has outlined why Martinelli has been chosen, however, with the Arsenal ace in the 26-man contingent.
He said: "We like Martinelli's aggressiveness. He’s one of the top players at Arsenal, the first placed team in the Premier League. He's good in one-v-ones, he's very rapid in transitions and he's been playing at a consistently good level."
Do you disagree with any of Brazil's selection decisions? Let us know in the comments below!
However, someone who hasn't been selected is Liverpool's Roberto Firmino despite his bright start to the campaign. Firmino has scored six goals and chipped in with three assists in the Premier League this term, more than Martinelli in both departments.
Another player who has been snubbed by Tite is Arsenal defender Gabriel, after he netted the all-important winner in the Gunners' 1-0 success over Chelsea on Sunday afternoon. Competition for a place in Brazil's squad is tough given the amount of world-class players available to Tite, with Gabriel losing out to Chelsea's Thiago Silva, Paris Saint-Germain's Marquinhos, Real Madrid's Eder Militao and Juventus ' Gleison Bremer.
Although Gabriel is yet to make his senior international debut, the 24-year-old was in strong contention to be called up to the squad. While Gabriel is yet to directly comment on the matter, he did respond to a supporter on his Instagram story shortly after the squad announcement.
Reposting a message that read: "I saw you grow up in football, brother. You are the pride of our neighbourhood." The defender added a heart and fist-bump emoji to the caption. Gabriel has also liked a number of players' posts on social media, reacting to them being selected for the World Cup alongside teammate Jesus.
