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Gabriel Martinelli
Devotion
Brazil, Guarulhos, a neighborhood in São Paulo. Not exactly the typical Brazilian setting you might imagine for a South American who grew up with football in their veins. São Paulo is located on the Serra do Mar mountain range, though it’s not too far from the beaches washed by the Atlantic Ocean, where the landscapes resemble those of City of God by Fernando Meirelles and Kátia Lund, or the documentary on altinha by Jean-Marc Joseph. It is in this context that Gabriel Teodoro Martinelli Silva, known to Arsenal fans simply as Martinelli, grew up. Just hearing his last name gives the impression of a calm and composed youngster, one who expresses his technique by staying low-key, focused on the Emirates pitch.
Today, Martinelli is in his fourth season with the Gunners, after turning professional in Brazil with Ituano. 2025 is shaping up to be the year of his breakthrough, and this is clear from the seriousness with which he speaks to me, and the care he takes not to overstate things, measuring his words carefully. Martinelli is a calm, quiet type, far removed from the stereotypical Brazilian we've come to know from the football boom of the 2000s. He is focused, a personality still to be fully discovered, and for this reason, he is the latest figure in our More Than series.
Full look FERRAGAMO.
Full look FERRAGAMO.
Full look TOM FORD.
Full look MOSCHINO.
Full look MOSCHINO.
«What could I ask for more at this moment? Absolutely nothing. My family is doing well, I feel great and healthy, but most importantly, I play for Arsenal, one of the biggest clubs in the world. I wouldn’t change anything about my life right now.» It can’t be easy to work on your self-awareness, especially when you are part of a new generation of talents who no longer have any excuses—they now just need to deliver. «Feeling under pressure is part of the game. After a while, you get used to it. I’ve had a ball at my feet since I was 6 years old, back when I was playing futsal with Corinthians, where I felt a lot of pressure too.» He continues, unrestrained: «I’m actually a very practical person: I don’t have any special rituals before going on the field. I just want the game to start, I forget that there are spectators watching.».
After a brief chat, we find ourselves in the heart of Alexandra Road Estate, a residential complex that could metaphorically sum up the cultural clash a Brazilian might experience when faced with football and the inherently rigid, disciplined world of English football. Alexandra Road Estate is a famous brutalist structure, known especially for its eight-story building with a ziggurat-like shape. This is how we imagined capturing Gabriel: «Really, I had to face a strict discipline. I realized I had to be practical, both as an athlete and as a person. At some point in my life, all the anarchy—which had characterized my life, but especially the way I played futsal and altinha—gradually disappeared. You start having to take care of your body, you need to live a careful, different life, you have to take care of your mind, and you can’t just do whatever you want anymore.»
Full look FENDI.
Full look FENDI.
«Fashion is a passion of mine—if I could wear only one brand for the rest of my life, it would be Louis Vuitton. Although lately, I’ve been obsessed with Prada.»
«Fashion is a passion of mine—if I could wear only one brand for the rest of my life, it would be Louis Vuitton. Although lately, I’ve been obsessed with Prada.»
Of course, there’s a Gabi beyond football, but it’s not easy to bring out this alter-ego. From the way he speaks, calling him "focused" is an understatement. He is devoted to his work—he almost seems puzzled when I ask him what he would be doing today if he hadn’t become a footballer: «I don’t know, seriously, I have no idea. By the way, this is a question my dad used to ask me when I still lived in Brazil. I would tell him that I didn’t see any alternative in front of me. When I’m not playing football, I rarely think or do anything else. At most, I spend time with my family and friends, or I think about Dior and Louis Vuitton» (he laughs, editor's note).
A quote that sums up the essence of Gabriel Martinelli and makes him eligible to be part of our More Than athlete series: being more than just a footballer who steps onto the pitch every week. Gabriel is an athlete who transforms his work into a method that expresses his attitude and essence. Martinelli is an athlete who manifests himself through the awareness of having found a balance that intertwines with an ultra-expressive interest like fashion. He speaks about it with determination, without mincing words, as he’s done since the beginning of the interview. «Fashion is a passion of mine—if I could wear only one brand for the rest of my life, it would be Louis Vuitton. Although lately, I’ve been obsessed with Prada.»
Full look BRIONI.
Full look BRIONI.
Full look BRIONI.
Full look BRIONI.
Now, returning to the idea of discipline, Prada’s aesthetics align perfectly with the idea of discipline and uniform. Discipline, however, rarely takes a break. It is important to contemplate the idea of idleness as a break from rigor: «I have so much fun with my teammates" (he calls them the Brazilian Crew). "Especially with my Brazilian brothers: Gabriel Magalhães, Jorginho, but also Cala (Riccardo Calafiori). I admire Cala because he dresses so well—no offense to Ben White, who is also super stylish." He continues: "With some of them, I’d like to spend more time together, but we lead completely different lives. You know, I have a girlfriend, but they have kids, and that changes their lifestyle.»
After this clear conversation, we didn’t eliminate the distance of knowledge between us and Gabriel, but it was, at the same time, so clear that it gave us a perfect profile of the athlete. For this reason, we could never imagine Martinelli’s future away from football: it would almost be a betrayal of his primal love. This we would have confirmed ourselves, but it’s Gabriel who confesses it: «I don’t think I want to become a coach in the future, but a talent scout or a agent, yes. I never want to leave football, I’m only 23, but I’m pretty sure about this.» So, we just have to wait and see how the "Brazilian footballer 2.0" takes shape, a concept signed by Gabriel Teodoro Martinelli Silva, an athlete who feels very much at home in his comfort zone, with his carioca colors slightly faded when viewed through European eyes.
Photographer: Boris Camaca
Stylist: Antonio Autorino
Make Up: Riona O’Sullivan
Interview: Andrea Mascia
