Is Gabriel Martinelli the one that got away?
Manchester United had the Arsenal forward on several trials preceding his transfer from Ituano to Arsenal.
Just nine games into the season, Manchester United’s title rivals of the past Arsenal have got off to an electrifying start winning an impressive eight out of their first nine games. The weekend’s victory over Liverpool seemed like a checkpoint in the club’s progression under manager Mikel Arteta, overcoming the mental block of facing Liverpool that has resulted in poor results across the last few years. This resulted in many now believing that the Gunners will be amongst the top of the table come May, while also shining the spotlights upon the eye catching development of numerous young players in the ranks.
One of those was man of the match Gabriel Martinelli. Having completed the most dribbles in the Premier League this season, the Brazilian looks to have taken a big leap from last season in terms of production and overall play. In a climate where clubs are paying huge money for wingers, paying just £6 million for one that competes with the best of them is the sort of transfer business that can transform a club from Europa League qualification spots to title contenders. However, it could’ve been all so different for the forward from Ituano.
During 2015 a slight teenager hailing from Sao Paulo by the name of Gabi walked out onto the Trafford Training centre pitch, better known as Carrington, to partake in a training session with Manchester United. There was an excitement ringing around the club about a talented Brazilian being in the presence and an intrigue into the level of talent that would be displayed. It was unusual for South American players to arrive at Carrington due to the strict work permit rules at the time making it near impossible to sign teenage prospects from the continent. However, this particular case was different as the player had a possibility of obtaining an Italian passport through his Father’s side, which would grant him free movement throughout the EU.
Gabi struggled to make an impact as he would regularly get pushed off the ball and on many occasions couldn’t compete with physically imposing defenders. Despite this, the forward showed glimpses of brilliance, enough for Manchester United to offer further trials that occurred year after year. In October 2016, the now 15 year old striker returned on trial and got his first taste of English Football, starting in a 1-1 draw away at Middlesbrough for the under 16 team. Again, struggling to make an impact on physically imposing defenders but there was no doubt that there were impressive attributes present that would encourage staff at the club.
Fast forward again to July 2017 and the striker arrived again in Manchester to partake in the under 18’s squad pre season, featuring as a substitute in the 60th minute in a 2-0 win away at Lincoln. A decision was taken by Manchester United to not pursue the signing of Gabi. This was understandable due to the relatively large fee demanded by hometown club Ituano for his services as well as the already existing attacking talent within the youth ranks and the impact his signing may have on their respective developments. It is worth noting that Barcelona had offered similar trials to the Brazilian and also came to the same final decision.
What seemed like a responsible decision at the time for United’s hierarchy has since aged ineptly with Arsenal proving to be the beneficiary. Just a year later he was enjoying trials with Arsenal and later excelled, leading to the splashing out of 6 million to acquire the youngster from Brazilian fourth division side Ituano. Made even worse is the fact that United’s hit rate in terms of signing young players has been particularly low in recent years. The fee that managed to acquire Amad Diallo from Atalanta was more than three times that of Gabriel Martinelli’s asking fee and the impact both have had at first team level is incomparable. Consequently, the scrutiny on the missing out on signings who prove to be successful is elevated because of the lack of success the alternatives have enjoyed.
The left winger position that Martinelli operates is a position that can definitely be improved upon within the United squad. With Jadon Sancho’s struggles to adapt to the game in England as well as the questions regarding consistency that Marcus Rashford still faces, it is still waiting for someone to nail down that starting place.
Another target from the summer was PSV forward Cody Gakpo, who has since taken that next step in his progression and transitioned into an output machine, recording a total of 22 goals and assists in just 16 matches. It is yet to be seen if United will re-enter the market for Gakpo, however it is certain that they will face a more challenging pathway in securing his signature in the future given his startling form.
A different prospect would be paving the way for a route into the first team for Alejandro Garnacho. At just eighteen years old, the Argentina youth international has shown real promise in cameos as well as in the victorious FA Youth Cup run for United’s youngsters just last year. In some ways United can take inspiration from Arsenal’s plan for Martinelli and hope that he can make similar levels of progression. However, this is unlikely to happen without significant gametime and we may see Garnacho head out on loan before given a real chance in the first team squad.
Although there are many questions that can’t be answered around the difference in progression at two different clubs, there is no denying that missing out on Martinelli was a mistake on United’s end. 6 million pounds is a minute risk for clubs this size given the transfer fees thrown around elsewhere. At the very least from United’s perspective they can be encouraged that their talent identification units are functioning given the obscurity around Martinelli’s talents deep into the South American football pyramid. Despite this, they need to learn from these events and ensure that prospect Alejandro Garnacho receives the greatest level of support and help required to become the replacement for the man they missed out on.