Gabriel Martinelli: Paul Pogba Was 'Super Humble' During Manchester United Trial

Arsenal forward Gabriel Martinelli has said Paul Pogba was "super humble" when he spent some time at Manchester United. 

Martinelli moved to the Gunners in the summer and has made a strong start to life at the club despite his tender years.

In the past, Martinelli was at United's Carrington training ground as part of a programme involving the Red Devils and his previous club Ituano. Speaking to DAZN (h/t Tom Maston of Goal), the 18-year-old said that he enjoyed his time in Manchester and had special praise for Pogba:

"There was a project between Ituano and Manchester United, and they always took a player. And I always came for these trip.

"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."

Arsenal made a number of high-profile acquisitions in the summer, with Nicolas Pepe, Dani Ceballos, David Luiz and Kieran Tierney all joining the club. As such, the acquisition of Martinelli went under the radar.

However, the teenager has been the most impressive of all the players that arrived at the Emirates Stadium ahead of the campaign and has started the last two Premier League games under interim boss Freddie Ljungberg.

In his first Premier League start at West Ham United, Martinelli grabbed a crucial equaliser, setting the platform for his side to go on to win the game 3-1:

That was the Brazilian's eighth goal of the season in all competitions, a record that only Borussia Dortmund winger Jadon Sancho can match among teenagers in European football:

Although Ljungberg appears to have put plenty of faith in the teenage forward, it will be intriguing to see what role Martinelli has to play under the new Arsenal manager. Per BBC Sport, the Gunners are close to appointing their former midfielder Mikel Arteta as their next long-term boss.

As for Pogba, the current campaign has been one of frustration for him. The midfielder's last outing came in September, as he's continued to struggle with an ankle injury.

Ahead of Sunday's draw with Everton in the Premier League, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer provided a positive update on the player:

Although Fred and Scott McTominay have been in decent form as of late, the France international adds an attacking spark to the United midfield that no player can match.

With the Red Devils in the hunt for the League Cup, FA Cup, UEFA Europa League and a spot in Premier League's top four in 2020, Solskjaer will be hoping Pogba can hit the ground running again quickly when he does return from this frustrating layoff.