Mikel Arteta says everybody at Arsenal has been impressed with the attitude of summer signing Marquinhos and has hinted the Brazilian could be in line for more opportunities after his impressive debut in the Europa League.
The 19-year-old, who has been listed amongst the 40 most exciting young talents in Europe, was instrumental in the Gunners’ 2-1 win over FC Zurich, scoring the opener and assisting Eddie Nketiah’s winner.
Up to that point, his only minutes had been with the club’s under-23s for whom he’s also starred with three goals.
While the boss acknowledges that Marquinhos has much to learn – including English – he thinks the player’s development is being managed well.
“I was looking more at the faces of the rest of the staff and players [when he scored on Thursday],” said Arteta.
“He’s a player that is very popular with no English, just with his smile and the attitude he has.
“He’s earned the respect and admiration of everybody here. It was a big step because he hasn’t played enough minutes with us, we were willing to give him the opportunity, I think he deserved it, I think he took it really well and he’s a player that needs to keep developing. In order to do that, we have to give him minutes and opportunities.
He added: “We want to build the steps. When we’ve asked him to play with the under-23s, he’s done incredibly well. His attitude [according to] every coah and player has been seen as it cannot be any better.
“That’s what we expect from the players, that’s why he got the chance against Zurich and he might get another chance very soon.”
Another super exciting Brazilian doing things he isn’t supposed to be able to do according to his transfer fee value. Looking forward to seeing more, it would be really good if he can go from strength to strength and provide some much needed competition to Saka. It may save us a lot of money in the next couple of transfer windows if he does, allowing us to invest elsewhere. We’ll see. COYG!
Get him playing regularly, even as a sub, and reduce the chance of Saka getting injured.
I second this view. He can come on when/if Saka is struggling in certain matches, or whenever the team is having healthy leads
Saka will be fighting for his place very soon…and it is going to be great for the team.
Ok let’s not get carried away. Marquinhos will be a great addition to the first team and can give Saka a rest when needed, but Saka will not be fighting for his place. Saka is very clear of Marquinhos and one of the most unique players in the Prem. .
There’s only one Marcus Vinicius Oliveira Alencar.
He seems to be missing the magic “Gabriel.” Are we sure he’s really Brazilian?
The other question is: Is William Alain André Gabriel Saliba secretly Brazilian?
He is going to be the surprise package this season. His decision making is excellent..and he can do that flighting crosses accurately. Even more exciting when u get the feel that he isn’t yet playing at full throttle.
Any more of these gems lying around Edu?
There is apparently a huge country full of them, sort of a conveyer belt of attacking dribbling talent.