Arsenal star Gabriel Martinelli scored the final goal in their famous quarter-final victory of the Champions League against Real Madrid in the Bernabeu, but he claimed that he does not like to play on the right flank
Gabriel Martinelli has admitted that he did not reach the heights this season – but is determined to make up for the lost time. Gunners-wing player Martinelli, 23, described the scoring of the Last Gasp winner in Arsenal's Champions League win in Real Madrid as the 'biggest evening of his career'.
But Martinelli also confessed that he sometimes struggled this season because he has endured a stop-start campaign that is disturbed by injury, a dive in shape and playing out of position.
The Brazilian star, however, is that he and Arsenal want to end the season in style by winning the Champions League and he made it clear that they will not give up the Premier League prior to Sunday's trip to Ipswich.
Martinelli said: “I can't say it's my best season here for Arsenal. I had to play some games on the right that are not my favorite position, but I can play there to help the team and I did my best for the team while Bukayo Saka was out.
“There is a month and a half to go if I am not wrong and I will just try to build the momentum and the victory in Madrid will give us confidence. We will go for it.
“We still have the competition to play for, we will try to give our best to win the games and we are not going to the games to draw or something. We want to win every game we play and just try to build a momentum. A club like Arsenal has to win the biggest titles and, yes, we go for it.”
Martinelli has been a large part of the revolution of Arsenal -Baas Mikel Arteta in the Emirates, because his pace and threat on the left wing was a key factor in their two titles challenges before this season.
But it had the feeling that his progress got stuck this time because he missed a month through a hamstring injury, played on the right -hand side instead of his favorite lock on the left wing and his winner in the Bernabeu was only his eighth goal of the season and his first in three months.
Arsenal, however, has given that victory the conviction that they can go all the way in Europe this season, while they are confronted with Paris Saint Germain in the semi -final.
Martinelli said: “I think it was the biggest evening of my career, because scoring at the Bernabeu is great and I am really happy with the performance of the team and the goal too.
We buzz in the dressing room. We know what we have done on the field, we did our best and I think this team deserves a lot.
“Since last year, when we qualified for the Champions League, we knew we could do it. We know our qualities and the power of the team we have and we have great players, so we have to go for it. We want to win it.”
Martinelli also says that they are determined to not only give up the Premier League, even though they are 13 points behind the Liverpool leaders.
Liverpool has the chance to complete the title this weekend if Arsenal loses at the tables of Ipswich and Arne Slot winning in Leicester. Martinelli insists that they cannot let that happen.
Martinelli said: “We have to believe and it's not over yet. Of course it is a big margin of points, but we can't give up. We're not going to give up.
“We also have the Champions League, so we have to try to win every game. But it is the end of the season, we are in the semi -final and we will give everything.”