Freddie Ljungberg says Arsenal have a young player who actually reminds him of himself

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Arsenal legend Freddie Ljungberg has claimed that Gabriel Martinelli reminds him a lot of himself when he used to play for the club.

The Swede is a fan favourite at the Emirates. Everybody loves him, and he shares the same affection towards the club. Ljungberg was a great servant for Arsenal back in the day, and he says Martinelli is similar to him.

Freddie Ljungberg says Arsenal’s Gabriel Martinelli reminds him of himself

Arsenal signed Gabriel Martinelli from Ituano as a teenager back in 2019.

The young Brazilian, still just 22 years old, is one of the best wingers in the Premier League. He possesses electric pace, incredible dribbling and has the ability to score goals and provide assists.

Everyone at Arsenal loves Martinelli and it looks like Freddie Ljungberg is one of them.

The Brazilian scored his first-ever Premier League goal when the Swede was the interim manager, and the two of them know each other very well.

Speaking on Fozcast yesterday, Ljungberg was asked to name the one current Arsenal player who reminds him of himself.

The 46-year-old replied: “It’s hard, I think football has changed quite a lot. We have Bukayo on one side, we have Odegaard there…

“Maybe Martinelli, in the way that he has a lot of speed when he goes, a lot of energy when he goes. Maybe I was more defensive in that way, sometimes protecting the area and stuff like that, but in general, going forward, I would say that’s something that resembles a bit.”

Martinelli has had a quiet season

Gabriel Martinelli had his best-ever campaign last season, scoring 15 goals for Arsenal in the Premier League.

The Brazil international was expected to kick on further and break his record from last term, but he has had his struggles with consistency since the start of this season.

The 22-year-old has scored just seven times in all competitions this term. His good pal Bukayo Saka, on the other hand, has 15 already, which shows just how quiet Martinelli has been.

The business end of the season is not too far away now, and if Arsenal want to have a real go at winning the Premier League and Champions League, they need Martinelli to perform at his best level.