Thierry Henry hails 'amazing' Arsenal player and lists three qualities he loves

Thierry Henry has waxed lyrical about Arsenal winger Gabriel Martinelli ahead of Brazil’s Copa America campaign this summer.

He hailed the attacker for giving “100 percent every single game” and has commended his progression in recent seasons under Mikel Arteta. The 22-year-old scored eight goals and recorded five assists in 44 matches last season.

However, just one of his strikes came after February, as the wide man lost his starting spot to Leandro Trossard for the final few months of the season. He started just one Premier League game after returning from a foot injury in March, although he did begin three of the club’s four knockout Champions League games.

Martinelli will be determined to showcase his capacity for Brazil this summer but will have to bide his time with Real Madrid duo Rodrygo and Vinicius Jr expected to start. Henry was previewing the tournament - which kicks off on Thursday - for the Premier League and highlighted Martinelli.

The Arsenal icon - set to lead France's squad at the Paris Olympics - sang the praises of the youngster, listing three qualities and outlining his admiration of his growth over the past few years.

He said: “You can play low with him, on the counter, you can go and press with him. I think the way he did improve is amazing. People love him at Arsenal because he gives 100 [percent] every single game.”

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Martinelli will go for Brazil’s tenth Copa America crown alongside Arsenal colleague Gabriel Magalhaes, who had responded to Ronaldhino’s tongue-in-cheek criticism of the national team last week by posting a photo of himself with praying hands and the Brazil flag on social media.

“I'll repeat, our performance has been one of the worst things I've ever seen,” former Barcelona winger Ronaldinho had said on Instagram. “I therefore declare my resignation. I will not watch any CONMEBOL Copa America game nor celebrate any victory."

He later revealed that these comments were actually paraphrases of fan comments and that his social media post was actually about him joining a campaign to turn negativity into positivity, underscoring that he would never actually “abandon” the national team.