Arsenal star Gabriel Martinelli is ready to take part in football's grandest stage when the World Cup kicks off next week, having received a call-up to Tite's 26-man Brazil squad. The forward described it as his dream to play for his country in the tournament and could be set to continue his good club form.
It comes after an ideal start to the season for the Brazilian and the Gunners, having added plenty of end product to his skillset that has made him a handful for defenders. Given his impressive progression at the club, Arsenal are in talks to extend his deal beyond the current 2024 expiry.
"I want to stay they just need to give me a pen," Martinelli told reporters when asked about his contract in early November. "I am very happy at Arsenal. I said it many times, I love to be here. I love the city, I love everything about Arsenal so I want to stay."
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The signing of a new long-term deal would help the building of the squad for a longer time, but it could also help the side keep value within their players. That could soon skyrocket for Martinelli though, given findings over how the World Cup inflates player valuation due to performances.
New research from Saxo claims that performances from players could skyrocket their value by as much as 300 percent, with financial expert Anaam Raza claiming: "The World Cup is a rare sporting event when football players behave like stock instruments. Their value is determined by their performance at their highest level for just a few games in front of hundreds of millions viewers around the world and therefore the tournament acts somewhat like a stock market.
"Our research has found some players’ perceived value has risen as much as 300% in recent tournaments, where clubs have often purchased a player based on watching them for just a minimum of three games."
Transfermarkt currently have Martinelli valued at £36million - which may increase with a new contract signed in the future - however should that current figure increase by 300 percent, then he could skyrocket to being worth as much as £108million.
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