Thiago Silva: Arsenal star Gabriel Martinelli 'showing what he's about'

Thiago Silva has praised Gabriel Martinelli following the Brazilian attacker’s impressive form for Arsenal in recent months.

Martinelli has established himself as a key member of Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal team this season and he has scored five goals and made two assists in the Premier League, having started all 14 of the Gunners’ top-flight games this term.

The 21-year-old’s good form earned him a call-up to the Brazil squad for this winter’s World Cup in Qatar, with Martinelli having come on as a late substitute during his country’s 2-0 group-stage win over Serbia on Thursday evening.

Speaking before Thursday’s victory, Chelsea FC and Brazil defender Thiago Silva came out in praise for Martinelli after his good form for Arsenal over the last few weeks helped the Gunners to build a five-point lead at the top of the Premier League table.

In an exclusive interview with the Daily Mirror, Thiago Silva said: “You can see the connection they’ve had this season with Arsenal – it’s a big reason why they’re top of the Premier League.

“[Gabriel] Jesus, we’ve known about his quality for a long time, but Martinelli is really showing what he’s about. He’s playing without fear and, if he gets the chance to play, I don’t think it will faze him and he’ll just do what we know he can do.

“I think all attacking players at the top level need that little bit of arrogance – that they know they can do something special – and he has that.”

Martinelli is already just one goal shy of equalling his total Premier League tally from last season, when the Brazilian scored six goals and made six assists in 29 top-flight games.

The attacker’s future has been a talking point in recent weeks. His contract is due to expire in the summer of 2024, but according to The Athletic, Arsenal have the option to extend that deal by a further two years.

And it seems that Gunners fans shouldn’t have too much to worry about when it comes to Martinelli’s future. Speaking earlier this month, the player himself also insisted that he is planning on committing his immediate future to the north London club by signing a new deal.

Martinelli’s brief appearance for Brazil on Thursday night marked his World Cup debut – but the forward has already achieved success at international level after having helped Brazil to win Olympic Gold at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics last year.

“It’s a huge honour to win an Olympic medal,” Martinelli said in an interview with Arsenal.com this week. “And who knows maybe I can win another one in Paris [in 2024]! It was a wonderful experience, I cannot tell you how amazing it was, I want to thank all the fans who were behind us.

“Growing up I always dreamed of playing for Brazil and representing my country, but to be honest I never thought the dream would become possible.

“My family loves the Olympics, of course they all love football but my mum especially loves the Olympic sports like volleyball a lot too, and I used to watch it with her always.”

Arsenal will return to Premier League action after the World Cup when they take on West Ham United at The Emirates on Boxing Day.