Gabriel Martinelli has paid tribute to Brazil international team-mate Estevao Willian as the attacking pair prepare to lock horns at Stamford Bridge in the Premier League on Sunday
Ryan Taylor
07:00, 30 Nov 2025
Gabriel Martinelli
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Gabriel Martinelli is gearing up for Arsenal's trip to Chelsea on Sunday
Gabriel Martinelli claims Brazil team-mate Estevao Willian deserves all the applause that has come his way. But that won't prohibit him from tipping off Arsenal's defenders about how to stop his compatriot.
Martinelli said ahead of the Gunners' top-of-the-table clash with Chelsea: "He's a nice boy, his family are as well, everyone's so humble. They deserve everything that they are doing here.
"The boy is so good as well, everyone in the national team loves him as well. We knew before he came how good he is and it's not a surprise for us because we knew him from Brazil. So yeah, he deserves everything that he's doing and I just hope he's not on his day on Sunday.
When quizzed on whether he'll be briefing left-backs Riccardo Calafiori and Myles Lewis-Skelly before the trip to Stamford Bridge, Martinelli replied: "Yeah, I mean, of course I'll try to tell them some stuff but I also think we are good enough to handle him."
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Estevao is currently the talk of the Kings Road following his sublime solo goal in the midweek Champions League demolition of Barcelona.
But the raw 18-year-old Blues gem is yet to taste the ferocity of one of the Premier League's most-anticipated fixtures.
Meanwhile, Martinelli has lost just one of his 10 outings against Chelsea and he also boasts two memorable goals at Stamford Bridge.
He continued after netting from the bench in Wednesday's triumph over Bayern Munich: "I always like to play the big ones against big teams.
"I feel comfortable playing those matches because it's always an open game.
"We know how hard it is to play in this league but we're trusting ourselves.
"We have to do our job, we have to keep going so let's just go there on Sunday to win the game."
Estevao (right) was in scintillating form for Chelsea against Barcelona in the Champions League
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Estevao has hit the ground running since joining Chelsea in the summer(Image: Offside via Getty Images)
Competition for places in Brazil's forward line is now fiercer than ever following the emergence of Estevao.
Martinelli feels he has a point to prove ahead of next summer's World Cup.
The attacker added after six months working under former Chelsea boss Carlo Ancelotti: "It's so good to have him in the national team.
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"He's won everything in football so it's a pleasure to work under him and to have the opportunity to work with Mikel [Arteta] here.
"He tries to keep everyone comfortable with the mentality that we cannot just win the games now, we can win the World Cup."
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