Brazil superstar Neymar could not hide his shock after Arsenal’ s Gabriel Martinelli was called up to his nation’s World Cup squad on Monday evening.
Selecao boss Tite announced his 26-man selection during the week for the upcoming tournament in Qatar. Neymar was included following his exhilarating performances for French giants Paris Saint-Germain this season and the 30-year-old will now be attending the third World Cup of his career having also been selected for the tournaments in Brazil and Russia.
Whilst he is certainly one of the usual candidates, he has been joined by a young attacking colleague in the form of Arsenal forward Martinelli after his positive showings for the Gunners this term.
Despite Martinelli's displays for Mikel Arteta ’s men, Neymar struggled to shield his surprise during the squad announcement.
In footage shared on the former Barcelona man’s Instagram, he is shown sat listening to the squad list as names such as Antony and Gabriel Jesus are read out. As soon as Martinelli’s name was mentioned, Neymar immediately showed a look of surprise with his eyes widening and his eyebrows raising.
Neymar’s own name was then read out, leading him to break into a small celebration. Following the announcement, Tite explained exactly why he elected to name Martinelli in his squad and was highly complimentary of his abilities.
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“We like Martinelli’s aggressiveness. He’s one of the top players at Arsenal, the first placed team in the Premier League,” the Brazil boss said. "He’s good in one-v-ones, he’s very rapid in transitions and he’s been playing at a consistently good level.”
Martinelli, already a three-time Brazil international, has five goals and two assists in 18 appearances in all competitions. He will be hopeful of adding to that record during the final two Gunners’ fixtures ahead of the tournament.
Arsenal take on Brighton in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday evening before rounding-off their pre-tournament domestic commitments against struggling Wolves in the Premier League.
Whilst it is good news for Martinelli on the World Cup front, the same cannot quite be said of both his club and international team-mate Gabriel Magalhaes.
The centre-back has been left out of the Brazil squad despite his eye-catching performances for the Gunners this term. Instead, centre-backs Eder Militao, Gleison Bremer, Thiago Silva and Marquinhos have all been called-up instead.
Gabriel made one final appeal for selection in his most recent outing as he scored the winning goal against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge - his second strike of the season - but that was not enough to convince manager Tite.
