Ask Paris Saint-Germain stars that fear the Arsenal player the most and it is unlikely that they will come up with the name Gabriel Martinelli.
After he had eliminated 15-way winners Real Madrid, the men of Mikel Arteta PSG organize in a blockbuster semi-final first leg tonight.
And when Martinelli is on the score sheet, the history suggests that the Gunners have one foot in the last month in the last month in Munich.
The Brazilian wing player has hardly been in sparkling form this season, with only nine goals and only two in his last 15 games on the way to a Mammoth Champions League Semi-Final first leg against PSG.
But there is a remarkable record under that fragmentary form.
In the 139-year history of the club, Martinelli scored the record for most games without being on the losing side.
In the 44 games he has just found the net, during his six years in North Londs, the Gunners were never beaten.
Fifty goals – the last in the 4-0 Premier League victory on Ipswich earlier this month – with 37 victories and seven drawings.
It must be pointed out that in one of those draws – a 5-5 Anfield -thriller in the Carabao Cup in October 2019 – Martinelli salated twice, but Arsenal lost on punishments – a result that is conveniently included in his incredibly perfect run.
Martinelli is happy that that is also the case.
When he was reminded of the record, he gave a brutal smile and said, “Yes, I heard that.”
So how do you explain it?
He shrugged: “It's what we do, you know? We try to score and help to help the team win games.
“But if I have to run 15 kilometers and win games if I don't score goals and the Champions League win, I will be the happiest man in the world.
“It is really good to have these statistics next to me, but I try to give my best possible if I can do for the team with goals or just do the work in defensive work.”
You would not blame Martinelli that he was already dreaming of the Champions League -Final in Munich in Munich on 31 May if he finds the net about the two legs of this semi at a certain moment.
He laughed, “No, I don't think so, I just try to play and win the game.”
Whether it is because of the football gods or a sprinkling of pixie fabric that does the trick, which shows statistics that Martinelli has become an essential and game-changing ray in the Mikel Arteta machine that now competes for large titles at home and abroad.
It is important to remember that Martinelli is still only 23, after he was accompanied by Brazilian side of Ititano in July 2019 for around £ 6 million under ex-Boss Unai Emery.
At the time, he was a fresh 18-year-old with a light, childish framework, but his talent could be seen from the start and walked ten times in his debut campaign.
It led to the then head -boss Jurgen Klopp – after that 5-5 draw – that the teenager described as the “talent of the century”.
Six years later and Martinelli is a senior figure on this side in anything but age, which came through the dark times of Arteta's early government.
He survived mass squadron increases to become a favorite in Emirates and a reliable gravel as one of the longest serving players of the club, even if his songs – 17 goals in his last 89 performances – are not exactly striking.
But when he scores, it always seems to be done, a good example is to beat his stunning solo target running of the halfway through Real Madrid in the quarter-finals Second-Been 2-1 win in the Bernabeu.
Martinelli remembered reporters “I am not that old”, before he explained: “We have improved a lot. It was a great journey for me. I was just an 18-year-old boy.
“When I arrived here, we played in the Europa League, now we are in the semi -final of the Champions League.
“Since I started playing football, I had this dream to play in the Champions League and to be in a semi -final, it's great.
“It is the biggest game of my life. I am really happy to be here and have lived these moments. Everyone who loves football would like to play these kinds of games.
“I am really proud of the team, at the club, we deserve to play in this competition and win it. It's a dream and we are ready.”
This can also be a chance for Martinelli to strengthen itself in the thoughts of Arteta, where the club is looking for the left wing this season on the left wing, while his contract has also risen in the summer of 2027.
Leading Arsenal to a final of the Champions League would confirm the ink of that contract.
He said: “I always said that I am really happy here. This is my home – I love the club.
“But we play for Arsenal, it is a match every day. The club wants the best players in the world, because it is also one of the largest in the world.
“We must have the best players. I will be very happy when we come to the team big players.”
Arsenal's last European triumph arrived in the Cup Winners' Cup in 1994 with George Graham – when they also defeated the French champions at this stage.
But their Champions League record is terrible and reaches the final only once in 2006 under Arsene Wenger before losing 2-1 by Barcelona in Paris.
Asked if he feels the weight of expectation to finally win the trophy, Arteta said: “You feel it. We have many people who have worked here for many years and have never been to this position.
“That tells you how unique and beautiful it is. We have never done it, so we have to earn the right to be in that final? And everything will start against PSG.
“I look at the players in the eyes and they can't wait to play. That's the feeling.”
Arteta added: “The past is not relevant. We can learn things from it, but live it now, the present. It's a wonderful moment.
“Let's let life and let's enjoy it. We want to do something special.
“The emirates must be something special, something we have never seen before.”
Asked if Arsenal was favorites with PSG, Inter Milan and Barca left, he added: “No, as we have never done it, so there is so much to do.”
Thomas Partey was banned after a yellow card against Real at the Bernabeu, which means that improvised striker Mikel Merino will be in midfield and Leandro Trossard will probably be in front.
But Arteta can take positives of beating Luis Enrique's PSG this period – winning 2-0 in the Emirates in the competition phase in October.
Arteta added: “I loved our presence, how we went there, our body language, the intensity, how aggressive we were.
“It was a good preparation for what is coming now.
“The way we approached the game against Real and the way we approached the game when we played them earlier, the way we approach every week … that will not change.”