Arsenal winger Gabriel Martinelli is preparing for the worst possible scenarios on the pitch in a bid to overcome the best sides Europe has to offer.
The Brazilian had a breakthrough campaign last time out, scoring 15 goals and getting five assists in Arsenal’s Premier League title bid.
Now, the 22-year-old wants to push on further this season with the Gunners tackling the Champions League for the first time in six years.
He said: ‘I think we need to prepare ourselves for the worst, we need to prepare ourselves for the best teams and the whole team is doing that. I think we are ready for a new challenge.’
But the winger is mindful of the extra workload on top of an already congested schedule.
‘It’s so important (our squad depth) because we have too many games in the season and it’s going to be tough again,’ he said.
‘We are ready to go and it’s good to have so many options.’
It follows injury problems in May, which he is now fully over. Martinelli came on in the second half in their 5-0 win over the MLS All-Stars on Wednesday.
He added: ‘It was difficult to miss the last two games of the season, and then I went to the break and tried to recover as soon as possible. That’s what I did and now I’m fully back and ready to go again.
‘I am confident to start the new season. It’s easy to play when you have so many players like that (Bukayo Saka and Leandro Trossard).
