Why didn't Gabriel Martinelli sign for Man Utd?
Martin Macdonald
- 24 Feb 2022 12:27 CST
- 5 min read
Arsenal are finally seeing the best of Gabriel Martinelli after the Brazilian forward spent the last few years in and out of the team at the Emirates.
After playing futsal for Corinthians, Martinelli became a professional football in 2015 when he signed for Ituano.
While there, he had trials with both Manchester United and Barcelona before eventually making the move to Arsenal in 2019.
In August of that year he made his debut for the Gunners in a fixture against Newcastle, and the next month in September he scored two goals in his starting debut in the League Cup versus Nottingham Forest.
TRENDING
In his first full campaign he scored 10 goals in all competitions, thus becoming the first teenager to reach double figures in the one season for Arsenal since Nicolas Anelka.
Unfortunately for Martinelli, injuries would limit him to just 22 appearances in 2021/22.
However, in the current campaign he has emerged as a more prominent player, starting 12 times and scoring four goals.
Failed Man Utd move
Everything could have been very different for Martinelli if Man Utd made their interest in him more concrete.
The Brazilian has revealed that he had a handful of trials with the Red Devils, only for the club to never pull the trigger on bringing him to England.
"I actually had four different trials at United when I was 13, 14, 15 and 16," Martinelli told The Athletic.
"This was in Manchester at the club’s training base, where I played in the same age group as Mason Greenwood and Brandon Williams and I met first-team players, like Zlatan [Ibrahimovic], Paul Pogba, Wayne Rooney and Patrice Evra.
"There was never a moment, though, when they said they wanted me [to sign] there. But it give me a taste and made the adaptation a little easier because I had experienced football in England.
"Even after those trials, I always believed in myself. My mind is always thinking, ‘I can do it'.”
