Arsenal midfielder Granit Xhaka has tipped his Gunners teammate Gabriel Martinelli to become "one of the best" after a stellar start to the Premier League season.
Signed as an unknown from Brazilian outfit Ituano in the summer of 2019, Martinelli has exceeded expectations of him at the Emirates and is now one of the first names on Mikel Arteta's teamsheet. Despite the fact his development was forcibly stalled due to a serious knee injury, the winger has continued to go from strength to strength in his Arsenal career.
This season appears to have been the one where Martinelli has truly announced himself as a fully-fledged Premier League star. Prior to the current campaign, the Brazilian international offered up moments of brilliance, but found consistency hard to come by.
That has not been the case this term, with Martinelli giving almost every full-back he's come up against a torrid time of it, most notably Tottenham's Emerson Royal in last Saturday's North London derby. Arsenal ran out 3-1 winners, with their 21-year-old wide-man giving his Spurs counterpart a constant headache.
Xhaka, who himself has enjoyed a sensational turnaround in fortune this season, bagged the third of the Gunners goals against their local rivals to ensure all three points. After the game, he sung the praises of Martinelli.
The Switzerland skipper claimed: "Gabriel Martinelli has a lot to be one of the best. He goes 100mph. He has to push himself with how far he can go. He has the team and everything around the help him."
Martinelli has three goals to his name this season alongside one assist. Those strikes came against Crystal Palace, Leicester City and Aston Villa respectively.
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He can consider himself unlucky not to have another, after his finish against Manchester United was chalked off by VAR following a review of a Martin Odegaard 'foul' on Christian Eriksen in the build-up.
The wide-forward's energy is one of his biggest assets, with Martinelli's sheer work-rate alone getting the better of many of those tasked with trying to silence him. His next challenge comes in the form of Liverpool's Trent Alexander-Arnold.
The Reds right-back has seen his defensive ability come in for questioning in recent weeks and Martinelli arguably got the better of him last time the two met, though Liverpool did come away from the Emirates with a 2-0 win.
Should Arsenal get their eighth win in nine games when Jurgen Klopp's side come to town next Sunday, the Gunners will surely have to be taken seriously as title contenders this term.
Arteta's side currently sit top of the pile on 21 points, but have Manchester City breathing down their necks just a point behind in second.
