Arsenal: Gabriel Martinelli will be 'really happy' if Nico Williams signs as Gunners eye reinforcements | OneFootball

The forward’s place in the Arsenal team could be under threat next season

Gabriel Martinelli and Nico Williams

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Arsenal forward Gabriel Martinelli says he would welcome the competition a new attacking signing this summer would bring.

The Gunners are in the market for attacking reinforcements, with Athletic Bilbao winger Nico Williams among those on their radar.

Williams would be direct competition for Martinelli on the left flank, but the Brazilian insists he would relish the challenge any new arrival would bring.

“We play for Arsenal - it’s a competition every day,” he said. “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.

“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 is one of several Arsenal players with two years to run on his contract this summer, although his deal does contain an option to extend it by a further 12 months.

The Brazilian has revealed he is happy at Arsenal, where he has been since 2019 after joining from Brazilian side Ituano for £6million.

“I mean, I always said that I am really happy here,” said Martinelli. “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.”

Excited: Gabriel Martinelli

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Martinelli was speaking on Monday evening ahead of Arsenal’s Champions League semi-final first leg with Paris Saint-Germain at Emirates Stadium on Tuesday.

The Gunners are bidding to win the competition for the first time in their history, while they have not made the final in 19 years.

“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 semi-final is amazing.

“Everyone that loves football would love to be playing in these kind of games. Everyone has to have their dreams. You dream to try to make it real.

“When I was in Brazil, I always had this dream. I knew it could be real and it could be possible. I just try to give my best and improve things.

“We have this dream. The football club has never won this title and the club deserves to have it. It’s one of the biggest clubs in the world and we are really happy to be involved in this moment. We believe we can win it. It’s an amazing thing we can bring to the club.”