Gabriel Martinelli sends message to three rivals for Arsenal place as price tag emerges

Gabriel Martinelli has come under fire in some quarters for his displays for Arsenal, but he insists he isn’t worried by an increased competition for places at the Emirates

Gabriel Martinelli insists he is relishing the competition for places at Arsenal despite doubts emerging about his future at the club.

Martinelli, 24, has come under increased scrutiny at the Emirates following the summer arrivals of Noni Madueke and Eberechi Eze, and it has emerged that the Gunners would have been willing to offload him to a new club in the transfer window if an offer in the region of £60million was tabled.

However potential suitors only valued Martinelli at around £40m, despite the Brazil international holding down a regular place on the left of Mikel Arteta’s attack, where he was often preferred to Leandro Trossard last season.

Martinelli scored just 10 goals in all competitions last season despite making 51 appearances – his most in a campaign for the Gunners – and at the start of the current campaign he came under fire from former Arsenal star Theo Walcott for his display in the 1-0 defeat at Liverpool before the international break.

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Far from being concerned about his place in the Gunners team though, Martinelli has compared his situation at Arsenal to the one he faces with Brazil.

“Regarding Arsenal, it’s like here in the national team,” he said while on international duty. “If you ask me if it’s good to have Vini or Rodrygo in the national team, I’ll definitely say yes.

“Because he’ll help the team to win titles. And if we want to win, we need quality players.

“It’s the same with Arsenal. I’m very happy with Eze and Madueke’s arrival as well. Trossard also plays on the left side.

“So, we’re very happy when we have quality players by our side. We have a lot of matches in the season. A lot of things can happen, injuries, etc.

“So, we’re happy for the club to be looking for the best players in the league so we can try to win.”

Walcott was clear in his criticism of Martinelli after the loss at Anfield, saying the Brazilian failed to test Liverpool’s makeshift right-back Dominik Szoboszlai, who scored the only goal of the game with a stunning free-kick.

Speaking on the It’s Called Soccer podcast, Walcott said: “Szoboszlai wasn’t tested at all. You’ve got a centre-midfield player at full-back, that’s music to my ears, but not at one point did Martinelli do his strengths. If you overthink things as a winger, you mess up.”

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