He is regarded by many as one of Arsenal's most important players but during his teenage years, Gabriel Martinelli was turned down by Manchester United on four different occasions.
The Brazilian forward, who has scored seven goals in 30 games for Arsenal this season, joined the North London club from Ituano Futebol Clube in the summer of 2019 for a reported £6 million.
He has gone on to cement his place in Mikel Arteta's starting XI, although things could have been very different for Martinelli after he attended four separate trials at Manchester United when he was 13, 14, 15 and 16 years old.
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Martinelli even played in a friendly match against Lincoln City, where he played the final 30 minutes of the game alongside the likes of Brandon Williams, but United turned down the chance to sign him.
"From 2015 to 2017, I went to train there [at United] four times for around 15 days at a time," he told ESPN Brasil. "As everyone trains at the same training centre and is in the same cafeteria, I saw all the professionals.
"I asked to take pictures for [Patrice] Evra, [Marouane] Fellaini and others. [Paul] Pogba knew I was Brazilian and asked if everything was OK and where I played. We took a picture together."
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Martinelli commented on how "super humble" Pogba was when he spent time in Manchester, and mentioned how important those trials were for his overall development.
"There was a project between Ituano and Manchester United, and they always took a player. And I always came for these trip," he said.
"I could neither speak English nor French, but he [Pogba] said 'tudo bem' (a common Portuguese greeting) and took the picture with me nicely, he was super humble.
"Those training days were super important for me to adapt to the style of play, the players and how fast the game is here."
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United decided against bringing the Brazilian to Old Trafford, with club chiefs expressing concerns over his physicality.
A report from the Manchester Evening News says Martinelli would 'regularly get pushed off the ball and on many occasions couldn’t compete with physically imposing defenders'.
In a recent interview with ESPN, Martinelli has admitted he was "anxious" during the trials at United.
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"I was hoping… when you get a trial you think it’s going to work out. And at a club the size of Manchester United, it makes you anxious. But things happen for a reason. It wasn’t where I was supposed to be, it was at Arsenal.
"And everything worked out for me to go to Arsenal."
Martinelli has since gone on to make over 100 appearances for the Gunners, as well as nine caps for his country.
Topics: Arsenal, Gabriel Martinelli, Premier League, Manchester United, Football, Transfers
Jack Kenmare