“I know Merino is good but this academy striker Arteta promoted last week is doing what even Haaland isn’t capable of doing, I think he deserves first-team start”: Arsenal superstar Bukayo Saka wowed by Arsenal academy striker who was just promoted last week

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has overseen a major rebuild at the club since he took the reins in 2019, turning the North Londoners into a force to be reckoned with once again.

Mikel Arteta has been ruthless in his approach, freezing out players he didn’t feel suited his style of management and bringing in players with the right character for him.

However, there are still players at Arsenal who were at the club before Arteta joined and who have prospered under his style of management.

Gabriel Martinelli is one such player, arriving at Arsenal in the summer of 2019 for a fee of just £6million and is now on 218 appearances for the club.

Arteta has now spoken about what makes Martinelli “a fantastic player to work with” in wake of his 50th goal for Arsenal.

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta hails Gabriel Martinelli work ethic and desire to always play

Arteta, speaking to the press ahead of Arsenal’s Premier League meeting with Crystal Palace, explained how Martinelli is “in the right path” to success, considering how well he has done at N5.

Arteta said Martinelli’s work ethic makes him a perfect fit for the Arsenal dressing room, and stressed that he is “very, very happy with him”.

When asked whether he felt Martinelli is a bit overlooked, Arteta told reporters, via football.london: “Certainly not by us.

“But you know, when you look at the consistency shown over the last few years and the amount of goals he has scored at his age, and the contribution to a big club like Arsenal is not easy at all. So, I think he’s in the right path.

“He’s a fantastic player to work with, his work ethic, his understanding, his desire to play every minute of every competition. That’s the kind of characters and leaders that we want in the team. And I’m very, very happy with him.”

What Gabriel Martinelli previously said about his Arsenal future

Martinelli hasn’t had the easiest of campaigns, having struggled with form at the start of this term and then suffering an injury in February.

However, he is now firing on all cylinders again, scoring in his last two games and reminding everyone just how good he is.

Arteta doesn’t look like he’s planning to move Martinelli on any time soon and, likewise, the player has made it clear he loves the Gunners.

Back in 2022, when Arsenal were trying to tie Martinelli down to a new contract, the forward publicly claimed that he wants to stay at the club forever.

He told ESPN Brasil at the time: “Of course, Arsenal are a giant team. If I can, I’ll stay here my whole life. I want to conquer things, I already said, I want to stay here and win titles, with this wonderful crowd, my teammates.

“We have a young group, we have a lot of time ahead of us, players with a lot of quality, I think we will achieve great things.”