Watching Gabriel Martinelli make his Brazil debut, it was impossible not to think back to when he first arrived at Arsenal.
That was in 2019 and Martinelli was as fresh-faced as they come, arriving in England from Brazilian fourth-tier side Ituano.
He was wiry and thin, and unable to speak a word of English, but has since transformed himself into a first-team regular for Arsenal and now a full Brazil international. The boy has become a man.
“He (Martinelli) trains incredibly hard. He is always willing to do more and he is not scared or afraid to take risks, and that is what I like about him,” said Gunners boss Mikel Arteta.
There have been many changes in Martinelli since moving to Arsenal three years ago.
Perhaps the biggest of those has been his physical adaption. He has specifically worked on building his frame and estimates he has put on around seven to eight kilograms since moving to England.
That is largely down to Martinelli employing a personal trainer, having gym equipment to use at home and following a strict diet.
“Of course you can’t lose speed, but I don’t think I did and I just gained muscle mass,” Martinelli recently told Globo Esporte.
“It (English football) is very different from football in Brazil, more physical, faster, the game is here and there all the time, you have to run more. In the beginning it was very difficult to adapt to this, but today it’s ok, I’m already adapted.”
Martinelli has developed his tactical side too, particularly his decision-making. That was part of the reason behind his slow integration into the first team, as it was made sure he could execute what Arteta wanted.
“He’s able to put some gears into his play,” said Arteta earlier this season. “Sometimes he’s still doing everything at 100 miles per hour but the energy and quality he shows at times is top.”
Finally, Martinelli has developed off the pitch too. It has helped that his family came with him to England, while Emiliano Martinez took him under his wing when he first arrived.
The goalkeeper essentially became Martinelli’s “big brother”, helping him out with tasks like finding a car and choosing where to live. Martinez pushed him to speak English in tactical meetings too and, when he left, Pablo Mari was another who stepped up.
Now Martinelli speaks fluent English, having thrown himself into language lessons three times a week, and he’s very settled in London, describing it as one of his favourite cities in the world.
The 20-year-old has made Arsenal his home and is flourishing into a vital cog of Arteta’s attacking unit.
Growing up, Martinelli was a huge fan of Cristiano Ronaldo and there are parallels with the Portugal superstar’s journey.
Both arrived in England as teenagers, needing to adapt physically and tactically to English football. Ronaldo perhaps got there sooner, and has gone on to great heights, but Martinelli is rapidly developing as well.
There are still shades of his younger self in his game, most notably the nimble dribbling which was honed playing futsal as a kid. His mazy run against Bolivia on Tuesday, which went viral, highlighted that.
That was what first attracted Arsenal to the forward when they scouted him, with technical director Edu then playing a vital role in selling the project to Martinelli when he signed a new deal in 2020.
Originally it was planned that he would join Arsenal and play for the Under-23s, but his form on the 2019 summer tour to the USA meant he went straight into the first-team squad.
Then manager Unai Emery saw him as a left winger, which is Martinelli’s preferred role, but also played him centrally and he famously scored a hat-trick on his Europa League debut.
It is the view of some at Arsenal that long-term Martinelli could end up as a striker, given his pace and the fact he has beefed up since moving to England.
Either way, the boy from Brazil has come a long way since his first days at Arsenal.
