Gabriel Martinelli's Arsenal Exit: A Ruthless Decision by Arteta
Gabriel Martinelli’s Arsenal story is almost over – and the ending is anything but gentle.
The Brazilian winger, the club’s longest-serving player, has been told in no uncertain terms by Mikel Arteta to find a new club, with a move to Al Hilal in the Saudi Pro League now looming. For a player who helped carry Arsenal through their rise back to the top, the cut feels brutally sharp.
Arteta’s ruthless call
Inside the club, this is being seen as a defining, even ruthless, moment in Arteta’s reign. Fresh from delivering the Premier League title, the manager is wasting no time reshaping his squad, and sentiment is clearly not part of the process.
Martinelli has been frozen out of recent matchday squads, a stark contrast to his status as a key figure in Arsenal’s climb back to the elite. The decision to cast him aside has not landed smoothly in the dressing room. ESPN reports “some discomfort” among the squad, with several team-mates strongly sympathetic towards the 23-year-old.
The tension spiked around the Community Shield. Arsenal beat Manchester City, lifted the trophy – and Martinelli watched from the outside. He was not included in the squad and did not receive a winners’ medal. According to the same report, that call left him “greatly disappointed”, and a number of senior players were deeply unhappy with the way he was excluded altogether.
The writing on the wall
In truth, the signs were there early in the summer. Arsenal pushed through a £34 million deal for Christos Tzolis, a highly rated attacking talent, and then went after Vinicius Junior in an ambitious, if ultimately unsuccessful, move. Those efforts pointed to one thing: Arteta wanted to remodel his left flank, and Martinelli was no longer central to the plan.
This is a remarkable shift given what has come before. Since making his first-team debut in 2019, Martinelli has amassed close to 300 appearances for Arsenal in all competitions. His influence dipped slightly last season, but he still played a major part in the club’s run to the Champions League final and their first league title since 2004. He was not a fringe figure. He was part of the core.
Yet when Arsenal opened their Premier League campaign against Coventry City, Martinelli was nowhere to be seen. Not injured. Not involved. At that point, his departure stopped being a possibility and started to feel like a formality.
Saudi switch beckons
Interest has not been lacking. Galatasaray tested the waters, but their approach failed to move the player. Globo Esporte reports that Martinelli has now given the green light to a move to Saudi Arabia, agreeing to join Al Hilal after some initial hesitation over the switch.
The only real question left is the price.
Arsenal are pushing for a package in the region of £60 million for a forward who has grown with the club and contributed across multiple campaigns. ESPN, though, suggests the final fee is more likely to land closer to £40 million as negotiations continue.
However it ends, the symbolism is clear. A title-winning Arsenal, led by a manager emboldened by success, is willing to cut loose one of its longest-serving and most popular players to chase the next level.
For Martinelli, the next chapter looks set to unfold under the Saudi lights. For Arsenal, the message is stark: nobody is safe when the bar has been raised this high.
