Gabriel Jesus has labeled Arsenal teammate Gabriel Martinelli as an 'animal'. The Brazil compatriots have linked up at club level for the first time after the former Manchester City striker's £45million transfer to the Gunners.
And it's fair to say that they've hit it off. Jesus has enjoyed a fruitful start to life with the north Londoners, scoring three goals in two pre-season starts. Mikel Arteta was eager to sign a new talisman this summer following the exits of Alexandre Lacazette and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
The 25-year-old has bedded in well with his new colleagues, and Martinelli has set high expectations regarding what the Arsenal boss demands from Jesus - on and off the pitch. Speaking on the Podpah Podcast, the Brazil international said of his new teammate: "Woah! Martinelli – he’s an animal. An animal! He never gets tired!"
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Martinelli's energy, intelligent pressing and tenacity to retrieve possession is an embodiment of Arteta's philosophy. With the youngster's studiousness already rubbing off on Jesus, the Gunners are well positioned to seamlessly integrate their new striker with ease.
The Arsenal boss' vision of play style at the Emirates Stadium has been set in stone since his arrival in December 2019. Speaking in September 2020, Hector Bellerin spoke on Arteta's intense training methods and the ethos he creates in the squad.
"This is our game," the right-back said after the Gunners' 3-1 loss to Arsenal at Anfield. "This is what we have been training since Mikel has been here, so just because a team is the best in Europe at doing that (pressing), doesn’t mean we change the way we play.
"We train this every single day, every single week, so we can master it and we can hurt teams by doing this. It doesn’t matter how good the other team is, we have an identity, we have a way of playing football, and that’s how we create our chances.
"If you look at the games we played against them in the past. Our goals come from playing out from the back. So just because they are so good at it doesn’t mean we need to change. We should all be proud that we stick by what we know.
"Sometimes it is difficult. Not every game is going to be easy. I think we just need to keep working and getting better, because these are the games we need to be winning."
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