Arsenal star Gabriel Martinelli has claimed that criticism over his call-up for the Brazil World Cup squad is "normal", backing himself to show his ability on football's biggest stage. It comes after the forward was selected for Tite's 26-man squad for the upcoming tournament in Qatar.
It will see Martinelli join the likes of Gabriel Jesus, Neymar Jr, Vinicius Jr, Raphinha and more in a threatening forward line for the Selecao. While plenty were excited to see the 21-year-old in action for his nation, former Brazil midfielder Neto slammed the decision, brandishing it as a "joke".
He told Os Donos da Bola: "This is a shame, a joke! I feel ashamed! Not because of Dani Alves' story. What is Martinelli's story? 33 career goals. This is a shame, a lack of respect for football. Doing this with football shows that you don't deserve the position you are in. Calling up Martinelli and not calling up Gabigol [Gabriel Barbosa] is a lack of respect. The biggest shame of all the call-ups."
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It's a huge claim on the youngster, who has impressed in the Premier League so far this season by adding end product to his tricky skillset. Amid criticism of his call-up, Martinelli has responded and backed the decision to include him in the World Cup squad for the tournament.
He told ESPN Brazil, via Sports Witness: "I think this is normal. Some people in Brazil don’t know me and it’s also normal to say that other players deserved to be there [the squad]. But I’m pretty cool about it, I think this is normal.
"I know what I’m doing at my club, I know my ability and I know what I can do. And you can be sure that I will do my best for the Brazilian team, in whatever I can help the team I will help. It will be a great experience for me."
With a huge few weeks ahead, Martinelli could have the chance to take his game and status to the next level while in Qatar. However, he will have to wrestle a first-team shirt off of some of the best players in world football to earn a place in the team to begin with.
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