Gabriel Martinelli has been excluded from the Brazil National team for the upcoming Olympic Games after being named in the provisional squad and some fans have reacted to this surprising news on Twitter.
The 19-year-old joined the Gunners in 2019. He made 26 appearances for the club in his debut season and was involved in 14 goals. Although the teenager had a breakthrough season, he has been struggling for game time since returning from a long-term knee injury.
Martinelli was initially included in the provisional squad for the Tokyo Olympics. However, he did not make the final cut. On the contrary, his Arsenal teammate Gabriel Magalhaes made it into the final squad.
An official reason has not been given by the CBF for the striker’s exclusion. However, the youngster only made seven starts under Mikel Arteta and the lack of game time could be one of the reasons.
Arseblog also suggest that the teenager could have picked up a knock or the north London club might not have released the player as he could miss the complete preseason and a major chunk of the early stages of next season.
Since the tournament is not conducted by FIFA, the Emirates club are not obliged to release their stars. In 2020, they refused to release him and as a result he did not play any part in Brazil’s Olympic qualification campaign.
Here is how some fans reacted on Twitter:
I blame arteta
— OchoBaba (@OchoBaba_) June 17, 2021
Martinelli full pre season. We win. pic.twitter.com/rJtpURcxl0
— AJ (@AJ_SR7) June 17, 2021
As disappointing that Martinelli misses out on the Olympics, him having a full pre season after being injured for most of the last year would be great for him and us
— H (@HM11___) June 18, 2021
Martinelli missing out so he’s available against Chelsea pic.twitter.com/JS1i2ytGc5
— K❗️ (@afc_hadenough) June 17, 2021
great news for arsenal that martinelli misses out! hopefully he takes it the right way and a fire is ignited within him
— It’s Always Eboue (@ArsenalANewDawn) June 17, 2021
That’s odd
— James. (@afcjxmes) June 17, 2021
Areteta effect poor kid !!! #ArtetaOut
— Harris Sanjakly ⚜️🇨🇦 (@HarrisMekic) June 17, 2021
Arsenal Fever View:
This news could be a blessing in disguise for Martinelli as the Brazilian can get an entire preseason under his belt and work his way into the manager’s plans for next season. Injuries have hindered his progress at the club and his exclusion from the national team could provide him with ample rest ahead of a challenging new season.
Gabriel Magalhaes will not be available for the preseason and is likely to miss the start of the season. This could boost William Saliba’s chances of a first-team start. The Frenchman has not played a single game for the Gunners since joining in 2019.
Previously Arteta has said Martinelli is “very close” to a regular place in the starting lineup. Hopefully, the teenager can impress the boss and get a good run of games in the early stages of the season which will do him a world of good to his confidence.
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