There have been 61 different goalscorers from Brazil in the 30 years of the Premier League, but none had had the honour of scoring the first goal of a season until 2022/23.
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That went to Gabriel Martinelli, who struck on 20 minutes for Arsenal in their 2-0 win at Crystal Palace.
It was the fifth time that an Arsenal player had got the opening goal of a campaign and its timing was just ahead of the average of 22 minutes for such a goal.
🇧🇷 Gabigoooooooool 🇧🇷
— Arsenal (@Arsenal) August 5, 2022
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Martinelli is the fourth South American to register the opening goal of a Premier League season.
He follows in the footsteps of Faustino Asprilla (Colombia) for Newcastle United in 1997/98, Carl Cort (Guyana) for Wimbledon in 1999/00 and Luis Suarez (Uruguay) for Liverpool in 2011/12.
PL season opening goalscorers
| Season | Minute | Player | Team | Opp |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1992/93 | 5 | Deane | SHU | MUN |
| 1993/94 | 10 | Beagrie | EVE | SOU |
| 1994/95 | 2 | Campbell | ARS | MCI |
| 1995/96 | 5 | Shearer | BLB | QPR |
| Ekoku | WIM | BOL | ||
| Williamson | WHU | LEE | ||
| 1996/97 | 4 | Bjornebye | LIV | MID |
| 1997/98 | 2 | Asprilla | NEW | SHW |
| 1998/99 | 7 | Heskey | LEI | MUN |
| 1999/00 | 10 | Cort | WIM | WAT |
| 2000/01 | 9 | Venus | IPS | TOT |
| 2001/02 | 15 | Nolan | BOL | LEI |
| 2002/03 | 4 | Ricketts | BOL | FUL |
| 2003/04 | 36 | Dunn | BIR | TOT |
| 2004/05 | 38 | Cisse | LIV | TOT |
| 2005/06 | 43 | Van Nistelrooy | MUN | EVE |
| 2006/07 | 46 | Hulse | SHU | LIV |
| 2007/08 | 90 | Chopra | SUN | TOT |
| 2008/09 | 4 | Nasri | ARS | WBA |
| 2009/10 | 28 | Hunt | HUL | CHE |
| 2010/11 | 14 | Kalinic | BLA | EVE |
| 2011/12 | 12 | Suarez | LIV | SUN |
| 2012/13 | 8 | Michu | SWA | QPR |
| 2013/14 | 37 | Sturridge | LIV | STK |
| 2014/15 | 28 | Ki | SWA | MUN |
| 2015/16 | 22 | Walker (OG) | MUN | TOT |
| 2016/17 | 45 | Diomande | HUL | LEI |
| 2017/18 | 2 | Lacazette | ARS | LEI |
| 2018/19 | 3 | Pogba | MUN | LEI |
| 2019/20 | 7 | Hanley (OG) | LIV | NOR |
| 2020/21 | 8 | Lacazette | ARS | FUL |
| 2021/22 | 22 | Canos | BRE | ARS |
| 2022/23 | 20 | Martinelli | ARS | CRY |
