Arsenal: Don’t use Barcelona and Gabriel Martinelli in the same sentence

Arsenal have one unquestionable gem in their ranks, and his name is Gabriel Martinell. So don’t even talk about Barcelona and him.

It’s been one hell of a season. And we’re not even half way there. Turns out there was so much room for opportunity for any club that could manage to not soil themselves, but as is often the case, Arsenal soiled themselves and rather than fighting for second place, they’re fighting for sixth.

That’s just a part of life right now. But it also doesn’t mean that there haven’t been big, glistening gems of positivity right here at the club. Matteo Guendouzi, for instance, or Kieran Tierney. Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli.

Martinelli is turning into the signing of the summer. There was significant hype already when he was made the first signing of the Edu era, but seeing him in action, seeing how easily he scores goals, it’s been something to hang your hat on.

The best part is, since he’s so new to the club and so young, he isn’t likely to get swept up in the drama surrounding so many of his teammates.

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There’s no poor social media decisions here, he’s too fresh to be booed, he probably doesn’t even know what YouTube fan channels are legit or not yet, and he certainly wouldn’t be disenchanted with the culture of Unai Emery yet. It’s only been a few months, after all.

You’d also think that there would be no time to be concerned about other clubs poaching him, but then comes the rumors that Barcelona are supposedly quite bummed out that the Gunners beat them to the Brazilian.

To which I give them a big ol’ shrug. I have no pity for them. But I do have a fear of them.

It’s like when PSG came sniffing after Matteo Guendouzi just six months into his tenure with the Gunners. Rumors of a high-flying £60m bid roamed the internet and suddenly this bright spark of a player was a source of stress. That stress went away pretty quickly, and he remains one of the brightest parts of the club, but now that Martinelli has entered the same sphere, I wonder if he isn’t about to go down the same route.

Martinelli obviously doesn’t have any control over of it, but he also has to be starting to understand how important he is to the overall outlook of the club.