'I cried a lot': Martinelli opens up on knee injury that 'broke' him

Martinelli felt something was wrong with his knee during training - it was a pain, unlike anything he'd experienced before.

The surgery news hit him hard but Arteta always kept checking on him and made sure he was doing good.

The striker adds that he couldn't wait to play for the Gunners again and his goal is to help the team be better.

“I was about to receive the ball and felt a little pain on my knee,” Gabriel Martinelli told the Daily Mail. "Not enough for me to stop practising, but, while we were on the finishing session, I told them that I was in pain. They told me to rest and, if I felt the pain the next day, to let them know.

“When I woke up, I felt it but I was able to walk. I thought it was nothing at first, but it was a pain I'd never felt before. I went to the club for the examinations and they said it was not good and I would need surgery. It broke me. I cried a lot.”

“Mikel talked to me during my recovery,” the young striker added. “Always calling me to know how I was, even when I returned to Brazil for a time in August. When the club needed me, he talked to me again, asking if I was feeling ready to play.

“I said yes. I still feel a bit of pain in the knee, but the doctors say that it is fine. I've not been able to play 90 minutes yet, but it also needs time. My focus is on getting better and helping Arsenal.”

Called the 'talent of the century' by Jurgen Klopp, the news of Martinelli's injury-hit all the fans very hard. However, Martinelli is now back in the fold, having made substitute appearances against Everton, Chelsea and Brighton since December 19.