Gabriel Martinelli has been in fine form for Arsenal in recent weeks, but the Brazilian has now opened the door to a potential exit from the club in the future
Gabriel Martinelli has hinted at a potential future move away from Arsenal. The Brazilian forward, who has been in fine form recently, scoring against Athletic Club, Manchester City and Olympiacos, was linked with a possible departure over the summer following the arrivals of Noni Madueke and Eberechi Eze.
However, Mikel Arteta has always been adamant about Martinelli's importance to his squad. "No, I think Gabi has been a super important player for us and he's going to remain very, very, very important," the Gunners boss said ahead of the transfer window closing.
"The fact that we have options with different qualities, that's going to fulfil what we want, because every opponent is going to require different things."
Despite his impressive performances this season, the international break has given the 24-year-old an opportunity to discuss his potential next move. Having signed from Ituano in Brazil in 2019, Martinelli revealed that he could one day return to Sao Paulo, but with a different team.
"My relationship with Corinthians has always been very intense," he told CazeTV. "I was born in Parque Sao Jorge."
"When I was six, I started playing there and spent my entire childhood at the club. I played futsal. Played on the pitch and spent every day of the week at Parque Sao Jorge. My life was there," the Arsenal player revealed.
"I'm passionate about the club, I try to follow them as much as I can. I only don't watch when I have a game the next day because they're usually on at 1am, very late. But I always try to watch with my friends."
His Brazilian and Arsenal teammate Gabriel Magalhaes is also a supporter of the side and apparently shares a similar aspiration to Martinelli.
"In the last derby, Gabriel [Magalhaes] went home and we watched it together with our friends," he said.
"At the end of my career, I have this dream of going back to Brazil. My dad and I have already talked about it, we'll go back to Corinthians. It's my dream, and my dad is a huge Corinthians fan."
The qualifier at the conclusion that this would represent a switch at the twilight of his career rather than imminently will come as welcome news for those eager to see him remain in North London for years to come.
However, depending on the length of his stay with the Gunners, his eventual destination could well prove to be back in his homeland.