Gabriel Martinelli's Hat-Trick Ignites Al-Hilal's Dominance
Gabriel Martinelli did not just arrive in Saudi Arabia on Saturday night. He announced himself.
Under the lights in Buraidah, Al-Hilal’s new Brazilian signing ripped up an eight-month drought with a ruthless hat-trick, driving the Roshn League leaders past Al-Taawoun in the seventh round and reminding everyone exactly why the club moved for him in the summer.
From drought to deluge
The first breakthrough for Martinelli came in the 18th minute. It was scruffy, then sharp. A rebound dropped loose inside the Al-Taawoun penalty area, and while others hesitated, the Brazilian reacted. One touch to steady himself, a composed finish to tuck it away. Simple on the eye, heavy with meaning.
That goal was doing several jobs at once. It was his first for Al-Hilal, arriving in only his third appearance since leaving Arsenal in the last transfer window. It also snapped a barren spell at club level stretching back seven months.
He had not scored for a club side since 15 February, when he netted for Arsenal in a 4-0 win over Wigan Athletic in the fourth round of the FA Cup. Between that night in England and this one in Buraidah, he had found the net just once – for Brazil – in the 2-1 victory over Japan in the round of 32 at the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
In league football, the wait had been even longer. His last top-flight goal came on 21 September 2025, in a 1-1 draw with Manchester City in the fifth round of the Premier League. For a forward of his intensity, that kind of gap gnaws away.
On Saturday, he bit back.
Watkins, Summerville and a statement treble
The first goal settled him. The second showcased him.
Two minutes before the break, in the 43rd minute, English forward Ollie Watkins slid a precise through ball into space. Martinelli exploded onto it, burning into the gap behind the Al-Taawoun back line. One-on-one, he stayed ice-cold, racing clear before finishing clinically to make it 3-0 to Al-Hilal and double his personal tally.
Any doubts about his sharpness vanished with that run.
The pressure on Al-Taawoun did not ease after half-time. Five minutes into the second period, the hat-trick arrived. Dutch winger Crysencio Summerville drove down the flank and drilled a low cross into the box. Martinelli timed his movement perfectly, met the ball first time and swept it home in the 50th minute.
Three chances. Three goals. A forward reborn.
It was his first hat-trick for Al-Hilal and his first in eight months. The previous one had come in Arsenal colours, in a 4-1 win over Portsmouth on 11 January in the third round of the FA Cup. The setting has changed, the finishing touch clearly has not.
From slow start to explosive lift-off
Martinelli’s Al-Hilal career had begun quietly. He came off the bench in the 2-0 win over Al-Shabab in the fifth round of the Roshn League, then started in the 2-0 defeat to Neom without finding the net.
Those outings felt like a settling-in period. This one felt like ignition.
For Al-Hilal, the Brazilian’s eruption adds another cutting edge to a side already stacked with attacking options. For Martinelli, it does more than decorate the scoreline. It closes the book on a long, frustrating spell without league goals and opens a new chapter in a different footballing landscape.
If this is how he plays once the drought breaks, the rest of the Roshn League will be wondering how often they can keep him quiet.
