A fundamental player for Arsenal last season, marked by the end of the 22-year drought without a Premier League title, Gabriel Martinelli, 25, stated that the English championship demands more from athletes physically than the World Cup. According to him, the intensity of the games in England is higher.
For the striker, in addition to the fact that many players play different roles at clubs and national teams, the World Cup also has the heat in North America as a factor that directly affects the dynamics of the matches.
“The Premier League continues to be more intense than this World Cup, especially due to the heat and the fields we’ve been playing on,” said Martinelli. “Sometimes, the player is also not used to playing with his teammates,” he added.
Despite the comparison, the striker stated that he has enjoyed the quality of the matches in this edition of the tournament. “It continues to be a very beautiful World Cup,” he said.
Martinelli hopes that the level will be maintained in the clash between Brazil and Scotland, this Wednesday (24), in the final round of the group stage. The player coexists with some of the opponents in English football and projects a balanced duel.
“They have a lot of quality players. There’s McGinn, who we always face with Aston Villa, Robertson, who played for Liverpool and is now at Tottenham. They will certainly come with everything, but we are training well and we hope to come out with the victory”, he said.
Against the Scots, Martinelli hopes to gain minutes again. He was on the bench in the debut against Morocco and played for 26 minutes in the victory over Haiti, when he hit the crossbar.
For the game, Carlo Ancelotti will be forced to make changes to the attack after the injury to Raphinha, who left the match against Haiti in the first half, with pain in his right thigh. Without the striker, who is expected to be out at least until the round of 16, the coach has options for Igor Thiago, Rayan and Endrick, in addition to the possibility of moving Martinelli.
Although he has already played on the right wing for Arsenal, the striker states that the role changes in the Brazilian team, depending on the formation and the teammates at his side.
“At Arsenal it’s completely different to playing on the right wing here. It depends on the formation and who is playing next to me. It’s easier to go deep and cross, or cut inside with the full-back passing,” he explained.
“But if Ancelotti puts me at right-back, I’ll say: ‘Of course, mister, you can do it'”, he concluded.
