Just nine games into the season, Manchester United’s title rivals of the past Arsenal have got off to an electrifying start, winning an impressive eight out of their first nine games. The weekend’s victory over Liverpool seemed like a checkpoint in the club’s progression under manager Mikel Arteta, overcoming the mental block of facing Liverpool that has resulted in poor results across the last few years. This resulted in many now believing that the Gunners will be among those at the top of the table come May, while also shining the spotlight upon the eye-catching development of numerous young players in the ranks.
One of those was man of the match Gabriel Martinelli. Having completed the most dribbles in the Premier League this season, the Brazilian looks to have taken a big leap from last season in terms of production and overall play. In a climate where clubs are paying huge money for wingers, paying just £6 million for one that competes with the best of them is the sort of transfer business that can transform a club from Europa League qualification spots to title contenders. However, it could’ve been all so different for the forward from Ituano.
During 2015 a slight teenager hailing from Sao Paulo by the name of Gabi walked out onto the Trafford Training Centre pitch, better known as Carrington, to partake in a training session with United. There was excitement ringing around the club about a talented Brazilian being present and intrigue about the level of talent that would be displayed.
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It was unusual for South American players to arrive at Carrington due to the strict work permit rules at the time making it near impossible to sign teenage prospects from the continent. However, this particular case was different as the player had a possibility of obtaining an Italian passport through his father’s side, which would grant him free movement throughout the EU.
Gabi struggled to make an impact as he would regularly get pushed off the ball and on many occasions couldn’t compete with physically imposing defenders. Despite this, the forward showed glimpses of brilliance, enough for United to offer further trials that occurred year after year. In October 2016, the now 15-year-old striker returned on trial and got his first taste of English football, starting in a 1-1 draw away at Middlesbrough for the under-16 team. Again, struggling to make an impact on physically imposing defenders but there was no doubt that there were impressive attributes present that would encourage staff at the club.
Fast forward again to July 2017 and the striker arrived again in Manchester to partake in the under-18s' squad pre season, featuring as a substitute in the 60th minute in a 2-0 win away at Lincoln. A decision was taken by United to not pursue the signing of Gabi. This was understandable due to the relatively large fee demanded by hometown club Ituano for his services as well as the already existing attacking talent within the youth ranks and the impact his signing may have on their respective developments. It is worth noting that Barcelona had offered similar trials to the Brazilian and also came to the same final decision.
What seemed like a responsible decision at the time for United’s hierarchy has since aged badly with Arsenal proving to be the beneficiary. Just a year later he was enjoying trials with Arsenal and later excelled, leading to the splashing out of £6m to acquire the youngster from Brazilian fourth division side Ituano.
Not signing Martinelli could ultimately afford Alejandro Garnacho more opportunities. At just eighteen years old, the Argentina youth international has shown real promise in cameos as well as in the victorious FA Youth Cup run for United’s youngsters just last year. In some ways United can take inspiration from Arsenal’s plan for Martinelli and hope that he can make similar levels of progression. However, this is unlikely to happen without significant gametime and we may see Garnacho head out on loan before given a real chance in the first team squad.
Although there are many questions that can’t be answered around the difference in progression at two different clubs, there is no denying that missing out on Martinelli was a mistake on United’s end. £6m is a minute risk for clubs this size given the transfer fees thrown around elsewhere.
At the very least from United’s perspective, they can be encouraged that their talent identification units are functioning given the obscurity around Martinelli’s talents deep into the South American football pyramid. Despite this, they need to learn from these events and ensure that Garnacho receives the greatest level of support and help required to become the replacement for the man they missed out on.
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