Gabriel Martinelli has suggested Arsenal need to bolster their attack this summer and welcomes the competition for places any new arrivals would bring.
Sources have told ESPN that Arsenal will be in the market for a striker at the end of the season and could also move for a winger with Athletic Club’s Nico Williams among their leading targets.
Arsenal face Paris Saint-Germain in Tuesday’s Champions League semifinal, first leg aiming to win Europe’s premier club competition for the first time in their history.
The Gunners missed out on the Premier League title and look on course to finish in second place for the third consecutive campaign, having scored 17 goals fewer than champions Liverpool.
Mikel Arteta is therefore targeting improvements in the final third and when asked whether speculation had increased any pressure on his shoulders, Martinelli said: “We play for Arsenal — it’s a competition every day.
“The club wants to have the best players in the world, because it is one of the biggest in the world as well. We are used to it.”
Pushed on whether he felt the club required attacking reinforcements, Martinelli replied: “We are a big club. We need to have the best players. I will be really happy when we have big players coming to the team.”
Martinelli has two years remaining on his current contract having originally joined the club in a £7 million deal from Brazilian club Ituano in July 2019.
“I always said that I am really happy here,” he said. “This is my home. I love to be here. I love the club.
“The club has given me so much, not just on the pitch, but off the pitch as well. I have improved a lot with the club — of course, on the pitch is important, but off the pitch as well.
“The club has been amazing with me, the people that are around the club, the fans, everything. I am really happy here.”
Arsenal have reached the Champions League semifinals for only the third time in their history and Martinelli admitted Tuesday’s encounter was the biggest game of his life.
“It’s a dream to be here,” said Martinelli. “Since I started to play football, when I was five or six, I had this dream to be playing in the Champions League and to be in a semifinal is amazing.
“Everyone that loves football would love to be playing in these kinds of games. Everyone has to have their dreams. You dream to try to make it real.”
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