Gabriel Martinelli says ‘everyone’ to Arsenal miss ‘sensational man’ David Luiz and insists his compatriot was a ‘key’ figure in his development at the Emirates Stadium.
Luiz made 73 appearances at Arsenal in two seasons and helped The Gunners to victory FA Cup in 2020 under Mikel Arteta.
Arteta then admitted he felt “sadness” at Luiz’s departure when the Brazilian defender returned to his home country to sign for Flamengo last year.
Martinelli was also disappointed to see Luiz leave, saying ‘everyone’ at the club still misses the former Gunner.
“He is a sensational man, a man who deserves everything he has achieved and a person everyone here misses,” Martinelli said. The times. “He was very important to me when I arrived, he gave me advice on my movements.
“At that time I was more of a striker, so I was always close to him in training and he would guide me.”
Luiz will no doubt be delighted to see his Brazilian team-mate Martinelli flourish at Arsenal. The 21-year-old has had a great start to the season, scoring three goals to help the Gunners climb to the top of the Premier League.
Arteta’s side saw their 100% record ended by Manchester United before the international break, but returned to winning ways in Saturday’s North London derby, beating Tottenham 3-1 in a raucous Emirates.
Martinelli said: ‘I have never seen our fans as they are now; it’s unreal, it’s amazing. They have supported me all the time. That wasn’t always the case.
‘I remember the game against Leicester when William [Saliba] scored an own goal, and the stands began to cheer him on and sing.
“We kicked off and two minutes later Xhaka scored the 3-1. Then I realized that everything was different this year, the atmosphere was very different. It’s exciting to listen to on the pitch.’
Arsenal took 21 points from their first eight league games and are one point ahead of defending champions Manchester City, the only team to have lost in England.
Gunners star Martinelli added: “Obviously this is just the start of the season but since last year we knew he had a pretty young team so this is a project. And we begin to reap what is sown.
“We know we can achieve very big things, so we have to keep the focus and the guts to achieve things this year because I think we have a chance.
“We only lost to Manchester United, but if my goal hadn’t been disallowed, it might have been very different for us.”
Arsenal will take on Europa League rivals Bodo/Glimt on Thursday evening, before returning to domestic action against Liverpool at the weekend.
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