Topics: Arsenal, Gabriel Martinelli, Thomas Partey, Declan Rice, Transfers, Fan Reactions
Gabriel Martinelli was spotted being “childish” with his Arsenal teammates during Declan Rice’s announcement.
On Saturday the Gunners confirmed the signing of Rice from West Ham for an initial fee of £100million plus £5million in add-ons.
The club announced the England international's arrival just hours after the 24-year-old issued a goodbye message to the West Ham faithful, insisting it was a “tough” decision to leave, but one incentivised by a desire to play Champions League football.
Arsenal confirmed the signing, which could surpass the Premier League record £100million Manchester City paid Aston Villa for Jack Grealish, via their YouTube channel.
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In a live stream of the Arsenal team beginning a team meeting, manager Mikel Arteta welcomed Rice and allowed the midfielder to say a few words.
The ex-Hammers captain said: "I've been looking at Arsenal over the last couple of seasons and the trajectory they've been on.
"Not last season but the season before, they [only] finished fifth, but you could see the style of play Mikel was implementing. Last season was an outstanding season, blowing pretty much every team out of the water with the exception of Manchester City."
However, during the announcement, the behaviour of Martinelli caught the attention of some eagle-eyed Arsenal fans.
While waiting for the meeting to begin, the Brazilian can be seen joking around with William Saliba and Fábio Vieira, before turning around and mischievously poking the bum of a team-mate, believed to be Thomas Partey.
It is likely Martinelli was unaware the meeting was being live-streamed on the internet.
Fans on Twitter were quick to react to Martinelli’s behaviour. One said: “What’s the average age again?”
Another wrote, accompanied by laughing emojis: “What is that Martinelli doing?”
A third person wrote: “Nelli doing childish things.”
Once Rice was introduced to the squad, Arteta allowed fellow new-boy Jurrien Timber to also say a few words.
The 22-year-old defender completed his move from Ajax to Arsenal on Friday for £34million plus £4million in performance related add-ons.
