Arsenal star Gabriel Martinelli admitted that he will “never get tired” of playing for the Gunners after a roller coaster week.
The Brazilian shone for the north London side as they dispatched Crystal Palace 4-1 at the Emirates to go eight points clear at the top of the Premier League. Martinelli opened the scoring with his 13th league goal of the campaign.
It is already the most prolific season of the 21-year-old’s career as he plays a key role in Arsena’s title tilt. He gave his thoughts on the club with a short Instagram post minutes after the win against Palace, strongly suggesting he sees his long-term future with the Gunners.
“I’ll never get tired of playing for this badge,” he wrote alongside a heart and fist emoji. A goal and victory against Palace rounded off a week of contrasting emotions for Martinelli.
The Brazilian missed the key penalty in the shootout as the Gunners slipped out of the Europa League at the hands of Sporting Lisbon on Thursday. Mikel Arteta praised his squad for rallying around the young Brazilian in the aftermath of his miss.
“They were a team around him straightaway,” the Spaniard said of Martinelli. “But he is not someone who is very concerned with this part of football.
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“He takes responsibility, chances, and when you see him running around the next day with that energy. Honestly, I wasn’t very concerned about it.”
Martinelli also gave his thoughts on the miss and was clearly delighted to get back on track. "It's life," he said of his failure to convert from 12 yards. "Not every game you are going to score and play well. Of course, I was sad and spent the whole night thinking about that penalty, but it is over.
"I scored a goal today and we got the three points, the most important thing."
Martinelli has already committed his long-term future to the north London side. The Brazilian put pen to paper on a new contract until 2027 last month.
Speaking at the time, the forward said: "I feel amazing, I'm really happy in getting the new contract. I want to do my best for the team and for the fans as well, to give back to them and make them proud.
"I've said it many times, I love everything about Arsenal. I love the city, I love my teammates, I love the fans, I love the club and I'm going to try my best for this football club."
Martinelli has made 122 appearances for the Gunners since arriving from Brazilian outfit Ituano. In that time, he has scored 31 goals. He played a role as Arsenal lifted the FA Cup under Arteta in 2020.
