Gabriel Martinelli makes Brazil debut: Brazilian media delivers verdict on Arsenal star

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Arsenal star Gabriel Martinelli made his debut for the Brazil national squad on Thursday.

The Gunners attacker received his first ever call-up to the Selecao for their last two World Cup qualifying matches.

Brazil top the CONMEBOL standings and have already qualified for the finals in Qatar.

This gave Tite the chance to experiment ahead of the tournament at the end of the year.

Martinelli has finally become an important player for Arsenal this season.

In his maiden season at Arsenal, Martinelli became the first teenage goalscorer to reach double figures for the club since Nicolas Anelka in 1998-99.

For a while, the 20-year-old remained on the fringes of the Gunners first team. However, he has well and truly taken his chance this season.

This term, Martinelli has registered five goals and three assists from 19 Premier League appearances.

“Unnerved Vidal”

And on Thursday, with Brazil facing Chile in their penultimate 2022 qualifier, Martinelli came on as a substitute.

The Gunners ace played the last 15 minutes as the Selecao ran out 4-0 winners.

Globo gave Martinelli 6.5 out of 10 and wrote: “In his debut for the Selecao, he came in wide on the left wing, tried individual plays and unnerved Vidal with some dribbles.”

Meanwhile, Lance gave the Arsenal gem 6 out of 10 and wrote: “Making his debut for the Brazilian national team, he looked a little nervous and didn’t have much of an opportunity.”

And GZH also opted to give Martinelli 6 out of 10, writing: “He had a shy participation. He barely appeared on the field.”

With Brazil already through to the finals and 3-0 up at the time of the Gunners man’s introduction, there wasn’t too much pressure on him.

Martinelli still has so much room to grow. So this should be the first of many caps for the five-time world champions.