Gabriel Martinelli makes surprise Arsenal Champions League 'worst' admission

Gabriel Martinelli has admitted that Arsenal are preparing for the worst next season when they return to the UEFA Champions League.

Mikel Arteta's side finished second in the Premier League last term, qualifying for Europe's premier competition in the process. But the Gunners haven't featured in the Champions League since the 2016/17 campaign, leading some fans to question how they will fare upon their return to the competition.

Now, Martinelli has claimed that he and his teammates must be ready to face the best teams in Europe, backing the north Londoners to be up to that challenge. «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,» he said, via the Mirror.

«I think we are ready for a new challenge.» Arsenal's impressive league form last term seemed to coincide with the fact that they didn't go far in any of the cup competitions.

And the Brazilian international has acknowledged that trying to go far in Europe whilst challenging for the title will be no easy feat. «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 continued.

«We are ready to go and it’s good to have so many options.» To address concerns regarding depth, the Gunners have been extremely active in the summer transfer market, already splashing over £200million.

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With that money, Arteta added Kai Havertz, Declan Rice and Jurrien Timber to his squad, with the focus now on offloading a number of fringe players. Granit Xhaka brought back £21.5million following his exit to Bayer Leverkusen whilst young striker Folarin