Marquinhos was the first signing Arsenal made this summer, joining the team as a potential replacement for Nicolas Pepe that moved to OGC Nice early in the summer. There was some drama around his acquisition, with Wolverhampton Wanderers claiming that he had signed a pre-contract agreement with them, prior to joining Arsenal and they even threatened legal action. As at when Marquinhos was signed, Arsenal was still heavily linked with a move for then Leeds United’s Raphinha, so he was more or less an understudy for Bukayo Saka.
Arsenal got a glimpse of their new starlet’s ability during preseason, but he had a debut to remember for the club, scoring and assisting in the Europa League win against FC Zurich in the Europa League group stages. He made his Premier League debut in September 2022, coming on as a substitute for Saka in the 3-0 drubbing of Brentford. That game also had a landmark moment for Fabio Vieira, as he opened his Arsenal goalscoring account in that encounter. Marquinhos first outing in front of his home fans was on a beaming Thursday night in the Europa League, when Viking side, Bodo/Glimt, came to town.
As the Europa League group stages reached its twilight, Marquinhos found games hard to come by with Mikel Arteta preferring to use Saka in the second-tier tournament, and he barely made the Premier League squads on a weekly basis. Yes, there were a couple of Under-21 games to stay fit, but Mikel Arteta wanted him to play competitive football, so it was no surprise when Norwich City came calling and Arsenal accepted a loan move for the Brazilian winger.
Marquinhos had spells with Norwich and Nantes, before spending last season with Fluminense, where he made 29 appearances – scoring two goals and providing two assists. He has made 6 appearances for the Gunners, scoring a goal and making an assist on his debut in a Europa League game against FC Zurich.
With playing time hard to come by, Marquinhos has joined Cruzeiro on loan, and will be hopeful to continue his footballing education there. Even with Bukayo Saka injured and Raheem Sterling struggling for fitness, the mere fact that Arsenal didn’t bat an eyelid to let the Brazilian go shows where he stands at the club.
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