Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has claimed that he will assess summer signing Marquinhos before a decision is made on his route of progression. The 19-year-old forward was the first signing of the summer for the Gunners as a signing for the future. The Brazilian joined from Sao Paulo for roughly £3million, adding to the growing core from South America in the squad. The likes of Gabriel Magalhaes, Gabriel Jesus and Gabriel Martinelli have all burst onto the scene in the Premier League and provide an example of how to earn a place in the national team squad too.
Edu said: “We’re delighted to have completed the transfer with Sao Paulo, as Marquinhos was a player we had been watching for a while. At 19, he is still very young, so he is a player for the future. We look forward to Marquinhos now joining us for pre-season, making his new home, and continuing to grow and develop with us.”
Marquinhos has already had a taste of first-team action, joining the squad in their pre-season activities. The youngster played 22 minutes in the first fixture against Nuremberg, coming from the bench in a 5-3 victory in Germany. With the strength of the Arsenal frontline, it may be a while before the forward makes his way into the team on a consistent basis. It leaves questions over whether he continues his progression in north London, or ventures out on loan. Discussing the loan blueprint at the club,
Mikel Arteta said: “It is great if you can recruit at 17 and get them out for two years, expose them at 19, 20, they are ready to play for Arsenal. It is incredible because they are experiencing making errors, mistakes, learning somewhere else.”
When asked about the possibility of Marquinhos leaving,
Mikel Arteta added: “First of all we have to expose him here and see how he reacts to the environment. So far Marquinhos as well, he has reacted in a really good way so let’s see what happens. He is very physical and is coping really well with the demands of our training session but another thing after is to compete. As long as you don’t get confused what is pre-season and what is a training session and the ball gets rolling on the 5th of August at Palace – that’s a different story.”
