Gabriel Martinelli insists Arsenal have to 'stay calm' after their three-match winless run - as Brazilian star admits 'relief' after finally finding the back of the net against Chelsea

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Arsenal forward Gabriel Martinelli has laid praise at the feet of manager Mikel Arteta for helping him to stay positive in recent months.

The talented Brazilian flyer struggled to find consistency earlier this year but scored in the 1-1 draw with Chelsea on Sunday - his third of the season - and was rewarded with a call-up to the national side.

Though he has yet to recapture the heights he hit in 2022-23 for Arsenal, Martinelli has held down a first team starting berth and that's despite competition from Raheem Sterling.

Arteta for one will be hoping the strike against Chelsea is a sign of his perseverance paying off.

'Arteta has been really important in my growth in football,' says Martinelli. 'I was 19 when he came to the club so we have been through a process with the team, not just me but every player.

Arsenal forward Gabriel Martinelli has laid praise at the feet of manager Mikel Arteta

The Spaniard has overseen Martinelli's growth in English football since 19-years-old

'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 but he said ''Nah. Try to control the ball with your left and try to take the openings on.'' Since that day I do it every time now so it's super easy for me.'

Now 23, Martinelli honed his skills playing on the futsal courts of his native Brazil from the age of six where he was spotted by Corinthians. And the lessons he learned there serve him well today.

'Futsal was really important in my growth in football. The court is smaller, you have to think quicker, you don't have much space. So it's all quicker.'

Martinelli is consistently clocked as Arsenal's quickest player but he confesses it is team mate Kieran Tierney who is fastest at the club. Still, utilising the skills he forged in Futsal and running at such pace makes him a difficult proposition for Premier League opposition. Though he admits there are some defenders who stop him in his tracks.

'I think Kyle Walker at City and Ibrahim Konate at Liverpool, they are both tough to beat. It's just about instinct. I see how they are, how their body is and I just try to beat them.

'It's just instinctive, when you are in the game you don't think much, you don't have time, it's all based on instinct.'

Talking to Men in Blazers, Martinelli was also candid about the frustration of not making the most of his goalscoring opportunities this season.

'When you play up front and you don't score then it's hard, he says. 'We want to score, we want to help the team, this is what we do, we have to score goals but sometimes you are not scoring so I just try to think positive and work harder. 

The Brazilian finally got back on the scoresheet during Arsenal's recent 1-1 draw with Chelsea

'When you score after not scoring for a while, it feels different emotionally, it feels really good, it's better, it's a relief.'

Despite a few blips, Martinelli still believes Arsenal will have a big say in the title race.

'We have a really good team, we have been second two seasons in a row, we know our qualities. We know we can do it we just have to stay calm. We know it's a long season, but it's still at the start. We know it's really difficult to win all the games to be champions but we trust in ourselves and we go for it.'

And behind them all the way is the faithful friend Arteta introduced to breed unconditional support for his team, Win the club dog.

'Everybody loves Win the dog,' laughs Martinelli. 'I think Ben White and Kai Havertz probably love her the most as they sometimes take her home and take her for walks. Definitely Ben loves her a lot but everyone loves having her around the training ground.'