Thiago Silva believes Gabriel Martinelli has the arrogance he needs to succeed if he gets a chance to play for Brazil at the World Cup.

Playing for Chelsea, Thiago Silva has obviously had the chance to get a first-hand look at Brazilian teammates Gabriel Martinelli and Gabriel Jesus during his club campaign so far.

As a Chelsea player, Silva likely hasn’t always enjoyed watching his compatriots shining for Arsenal. Martinelli and Jesus have been starters all season as the Gunners have shot to the top of the Premier League, with plenty of goals between them.

But now that he’s on international duty with Brazil, Silva is seemingly hoping they can bring that form to the national team.

“You can see the connection they’ve had this season with Arsenal – it’s a big reason why they’re top of the Premier League,” Silva said. “Jesus, we’ve known about his quality for a long time, but Martinelli is really showing what he’s about.

“He’s playing without fear and, if he gets the chance to play, I don’t think it will faze him and he’ll just do what we know he can do.

“I think all attacking players at the top level need that little bit of arrogance – that they know they can do something special – and he has that.”

The Brazilian duo seemingly have a job on their hands to break into their country’s starting lineup, with other options preferred at the moment.

But they can certainly have an impact if they get the opportunity, and Silva is right to suggest that Martinelli is unlikely to be fazed by the occasion.

The winger scored on his Arsenal debut in pre-season, he scored twice on his first Arsenal start, he scored twice on his debut in European football, he has three goal contributions in four games against the big-six this season. He relishes a new challenge.