Gabriel Martinelli was on media duty last night, joining Mikel Arteta at Club Brugge’s stadium for a brief press conference.
The Brazil international took questions on the weekend’s defeat at Villa, his impressive form in the Champions League and the possibility of linking up with Gabriel Jesus, who has been added to Arsenal’s squad after recovering from injury.
Here’s what he had to say…
On his form and playing in the Champions League…
It’s the Champions League, so we are looking forward to the game tomorrow. I’ve been doing quite well in the last games. We are ready for the game. We are here to win the game as well.
On taking confidence from scoring off the bench in big games this season…
Yeah, I mean, we play in a big club. I trust myself, I trust my teammates. We know the qualities that we have. We have an amazing manager as well, so we know what to do in the games. So we just try to be calm and go game by game.
On what the team are taking from Saturday’s defeat to Villa…
Of course, we were disappointed with the result. We didn’t want to lose, of course. When it happened, I think we were 18 games, if I’m not mistaken, unbeaten. So, yeah, of course, frustrated with the result. We have to keep going. As I said before, we know the qualities that we have. And tomorrow we have another big one, so we go for it.
On having the chance to become the first Arsenal player to score in five consecutive Champions League matches, and what it is about the competition that brings out the best in him…
It’s really nice to play in the Champions League. Same in the Premier League. I think in the Champions League, sometimes it’s a bit more open, the game, and everyone just wants to attack and have loads of space sometimes. In the Premier League, sometimes some teams, as some people say, park the bus, and it’s a bit more tricky to score and to have more space. I’m really happy with the goals, helping the team, and I hope to keep going.
On competition for minutes taking him to a new level this season…
Yeah, of course. I want to play alongside the best ones, here or in the national team. I’ve said that before. It’s always good to go to the national team and play with Vini Jr, Rafinha, Rodrygo, those players. And here at the club as well with Ebbs [Eze], B[ukayo], [Gabriel] Jesus, Noni [Madueke]. So, it’s always good. We can’t complain. So, it’s good for us.
On Mikel Arteta labelling his substitutes as finishers and adapting to making an impact off the bench…
Of course, I want to play every game, 90 minutes. But I’m here to help the team. I want to win titles with this football club. I want to help. Even if I play five minutes, I’m going to go there on the pitch and try my best and try to win, to score, to help the team as much as I can.
On the importance of winning against Brugges, and how much of an achievement it would be to qualify in the top eight with two games to spare…
Yeah, of course. That would be really good for us and give us more confidence to show what we are doing. We are doing really well. And I hope we can win tomorrow to secure that.
On whether the players had a meeting to discuss the defeat at Villa…
As I said, we were 18 games unbeaten. We lost the game. We got frustrated because we wanted to win all of them. But it’s not like everything is going wrong when we lose a game. So we just try to stick together and to prepare really well for this game tomorrow.
On Gabriel Jesus returning to Arsenal’s Champions League squad…
It’s really good. I love him. I always say that he’s one of the best strikers in the world for me. So I’m really happy to have him back, not just on the pitch but outside the pitch as well, because normally when you’re injured, you don’t spend as much time with the team as if you are there. So it’s really good to have him back, and playing with him as well is really good. He loves to link up, to move and to rotate. So, yeah, I just hope he can have some minutes in the next games and show his talent again.
On having Jesus back and the boost it brings to the club…
As I said, he’s so experienced. He’s played so many games for City, for us in the national team. So he’s still young. I always say that to him because I’ve watched him since I was, I don’t know, 14, 13 when he was at Palmeiras in Brazil because he was 16 playing for the first team. So I always say to him that he looks older for me because I always saw him when I was 13, 14. But as I said, it’s really good to have him back, and I’m really happy. And as I said before, I hope he plays in the next games a little bit just to show his talent again.
