‘You deserve it so much’ – Gabriel Jesus sends message to Arsenal player who wowed him
Arsenal forward Gabriel Jesus shared a passionate message to a teammate following his brilliant performance in the Champions League.
Arsenal made the perfect start to their European campaign with a 2-0 win against Athletic Club away from home.
After a tense 70 minutes, Mikel Arteta made numerous substitutions, and Martinelli scored after 36 seconds after coming on for Eberechi Eze.
The winger then set up fellow substitute Leandro Trossard minutes later to double the lead and seal a comfortable 2-0 victory.
On the other hand, Jesus continues to recover from an ACL injury sustained back in January, but still showed support to Martinelli following his instant impact in their latest win.
Gabriel Jesus dedicates message to Gabriel Martinelli after Arsenal win
Jesus posted a video of Martinelli’s goal on his Instagram story with a heartfelt caption to say: “Good brother, you deserve it so much”.
The Brazilian winger faced an uncertain summer with Football Insider revealing that Arsenal were open to selling Martinelli earlier in the window before ultimately deciding to keep him.
It was reported that interested clubs were not willing to go above £40 million, which led the Gunners to keep hold of the winger.
Bayern Munich were among the clubs interested in Martinelli, but the German side decided to pursue a deal for Luis Diaz instead.
Despite Eberechi Eze starting the last two games for the Gunners, Martinelli showed that he can still make an impact amid the speculation around his future.
The 24-year-old only netted eight times in the league last term, and Arsenal fans had called for Arsenal to sell Martinelli to fund a new winger.
Yet, even with the likes of Eze and Noni Madueke having come in, the Brazil international maintains his place in the squad and underlined his value with a brilliant Champions League cameo.
| Season statistics | Gabriel Martinelli |
| Appearances | 4 |
| Starts | 2 |
| Goals | 1 |
| Assists | 1 |
Arsenal consider Gabriel Jesus sale amid transfer speculation
While Jesus showed support to his fellow Brazilian teammate, his own future at the club has also come under uncertainty this summer.
Football Insider revealed that Arsenal will consider selling Jesus as soon as the January window opens if a suitable offer comes in.
He was linked back to a move to Brazil during the summer, but with the forward still recovering from injury, a move didn’t materialise.
Once fit, he is expected to be behind both Viktor Gyokeres and Kai Havertz in the pecking order, raising the prospect of a potential exit in the near future.