‘No way!’ – Fans stunned as Gabriel Martinelli names the ‘fastest player’ at Arsenal

Gabriel Martinelli surprised Arsenal fans with his pick (Picture: Getty)

Arsenal fans have been left stunned after Gabriel Martinelli named the ‘fastest player’ at the club.

Martinelli is one of the quickest players in the Premier League and has indeed clocked the fastest time by an Arsenal player in a game this season.

But the Brazilian believes he is only the second fastest player at Arsenal, behind Scotland international Kieran Tierney.

Asked who he believes is Arsenal’s second fastest player, Martinelli told the club’s official website: ‘I think Kieran Tierney is quicker than me to be fair! I think he’s the first one and I’m the second.’

Tierney was a regular in the Arsenal team for four years following his £25m move from Celtic in 2019, making at least 25 appearances every season between 2019-20 and 2022-23.

Having fallen down Mikel Arteta’s pecking order, Tierney was sent on loan to Real Sociedad last season and largely impressed for the Spanish side despite a couple of injury setbacks.

During his time in La Liga, Tierney admitted he was unsure whether he had a future at Arsenal and he is yet to feature for the Gunners this season after returning from Euro 2024 with a hamstring injury.

Kieran Tierney has fallen out of favour at Arsenal (Picture: Getty)

Reacting to Martinelli’s claim that Tierney is the ‘fastest player’ at Arsenal, one Gunners fan wrote on X: ‘There is just no way’, while another said: ‘This cannot be true’ accompanied with a laughing emoji.

Martinelli is beginning to have more of an impact for Arsenal following a slow start to the season and says his team-mates believe they can finally end the club’s long wait for a Premier League trophy.

Arsenal have only lost once in the league this season and sit third – five points behind Manchester City – ahead of Saturday’s clash with Newcastle United at St James’ Park.

Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal have enjoyed a strong start to the season (Picture: Getty)

‘We have a really good team, really good players,’ Martinelli said. ‘We’ve been second two seasons in a row and we want to make it this year.

‘We know our qualities, we know we can do it, it’s just about being calm. The season is long and we’re still in the beginning so we have to go game by game and it’s very difficult.

‘We have to try to win all of them to be champions. We trust in ourselves and we go for it.

‘We can’t think about the last game of the season if we don’t do our job now. We just try to be focused.’

On the influence of Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta, Martinelli added: ‘He’s been really important in my growth in football. I think when he got here I was 19.

‘We’ve been through the process with the team and he has helped not just me but every single player in the squad. For me he was really important, helping me with my game.

‘When I’m on the left, I used to control the ball with my right foot. When he came, he said “no, try to control the ball with your left so you can take the opponent on.”

‘Since then, I tried to do it and nowadays I do it every time, so it’s super easy for me.’

On Saturday, Arsenal face a Newcastle side who have not won a Premier League game since mid-September but beat Chelsea in the Carabao Cup last time out.

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