Brazil legend Ronaldo thinks Arsenal winger Gabriel Martinelli will make an impact at the next World Cup in 2026 after starting one match in Qatar.
Martinelli made an impressive start to the season for the Gunners with the Brazilian contributing five goals and two assists in 14 Premier League matches ahead of the World Cup.
There were incorrect reports that he had missed out on the Brazil squad before Tite announced the Arsenal winger had made his 26-man squad.
Not everyone was happy with Martinelli’s inclusion, with Brazilian pundit Neto insisting that Flamengo’s Gabriel Barbosa should’ve been called up instead.
Neto told Os Donos da Bola: “This is a shame, a joke! I feel ashamed! Not because of Dani Alves’ story. What is Martinelli’s story? 33 career goals.
“This is a shame, a lack of respect for football. Doing this with football shows that you don’t deserve the position you are in.
“Calling up Martinelli and not calling up Gabigol is heresy, a lack of respect. The biggest shame of all the call-ups.
“Calling up Martinelli shows that you, Tite, shouldn’t hold the position you do, because you’re not fair to Gabigol.
“The guy (Martinelli) who scores five goals in the season, who walks around the mall here, nobody knows who he is… And not taking Gabigol, the guy who scored the goal of the Libertadores title, who scored 29 goals in the season.”
Neto added: “What has Martinelli done in European football? Arsenal are not even in the Champions League.
“This is a calamity! How many goals has Gabriel Jesus scored in these last games? Oh, none. In the World Cup? Zero. In the qualifiers? Zero. He hasn’t scored in eight games.”
Despite managing to play just 111 minutes at the World Cup, Ronaldo reckons Martinelli will prove to be a success at the next World Cup in Canada, Mexico and the United States in 2026.
On the Arsenal winger, Ronaldo told Apostagolos: “He is definitely a great asset.
“He is developing wonderfully at Arsenal and showed his potential in the group stage in Qatar. He will certainly stand out at the 2026 World Cup.
“We are very excited about him. What impresses me the most is that he plays with a lot of passion and self-confidence.”
Neymar will be 34 at the next World Cup but Ronaldo thinks his compatriot “easily” has another tournament in him.
Ronaldo added: “Now he’s sad and that’s okay, but he is still young. At the age of 31 he can still easily play in the next World Cup.
“He is very popular in Brazil right now because he identifies so well with his national team, he always gives his best and he has done everything over the last six months to be in top shape for this World Cup in Qatar.
“He made a big effort to be fit for this World Cup and he did it. Furthermore, the way he recovered from his ankle injury in the first game against Serbia was impressive.
“Against Croatia he was a top-quality player and he remains an important part of the national team. I’m sure he will come back even stronger for PSG and attack with renewed vigour. Neymar wants to win the Champions League with PSG.”
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