Gabriel Martinelli’s last kick for Arsenal delivered a fitting farewell message

Gabriel Martinelli sent his farewell message to Arsenal players and supporters yesterday. It was as sincere as Martinelli has always been, and it's fair to say that this departure stung more than any player in recent history.

Martinelli arrived at Arsenal as a boy, and he left as a man. When he arrived from the Brazilian side Ituano, he simply wanted to play football. He was grateful for every opportunity he got, and it didn't take long at all for him to make a case to start each match.

His love for the beautiful game soon developed into a genuine ambition to win trophies, much of which was influenced by the Mikel Arteta regime.

He did exactly that, winning the biggest thing to be won in English football. His last kick of a ball in England ended in him lifting the Premier League, but it's his last kick of a ball for Arsenal that will leave a lasting message.

It will be forgotten in history because of what happened after, but Martinelli's last involvement for Arsenal was scoring in the Champions League penalty shootout against PSG. He scored the penultimate penalty, giving Arsenal a lifeline.

Ultimately, Gabriel missed the deciding penalty, but Martinelli already planted the seed that should grow into something prosperous at Arsenal.

By scoring his goal, he reminded Arsenal players of the future what he already learned: This is a special club, and you can achieve special things by stepping up when the pressure is at the highest.

Martinelli has never backed down when the pressure was high. He might not have been the biggest bagsman of all time, but he never left anything out there on the pitch.

He was with Arsenal through the truly awful times, and handing them a lifeline with his last kick of the ball for the club, hopefully current and future players take a leaf from his book.

It probably wasn't the right call to sell Gabriel Martinelli. It would have been if Arsenal could have replaced him, but ultimately they didn't. Now, Arteta has been left high and dry, and he needs to work smartly to move some players around to make the team fit.

But that's a story for another day. The story of today is that Martinelli has left Arsenal, but the infectious joy he brought for the game should live on for the foreseeable.

The number of Arsenal players, both past and present, showing him love after his departure speaks volumes. Martinelli embodied everything it meant to be an Arsenal player, and that last kick should always be remembered.

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