Arsenal’s perfect Martinelli replacement will cost less than £40m, they simply have to sign him
There is plenty of talk around Arsenal at the moment of Brazilian winger Gabriel Martinelli leaving the club.
Martinelli has played a key role during Mikel Arteta’s time at the club but with Arteta keen on improving things at Arsenal further, the £6m signing is finding his place under threat.
Naturally, finding a replacement for Martinelli is not as easy as some thought it might be.
A deal for Vinicius Jr has hit the buffers, while finding a player on the market who is available and improves on Martinelli is a hard ask as well.
However, while it’s a difficult task, it appears one potential replacement for Martinelli is available on the cheap. And Arsenal have to act.
Rafael Leao could be perfect for Arsenal at less than £40m
Rafael Leao is a name that’s been linked with Arsenal across multiple transfer windows now.
Since moving to AC Milan, he has done well in fits and starts but like Martinelli, he has often lacked the consistency to take his game to the very highest of levels.
However, at 27, and with reports in Italy claiming Milan will sell for around the £40m mark, it could now be Arsenal’s time to strike.
Yes, Mikel Arteta would need to get the best out of Leao but we have seen the Spanish coach do this with multiple players, with the likes of Declan Rice and Martin Odegaard all going to another level under the current Arsenal boss.
With Leao, Arsenal would be getting a player who fills a lot on the left side. He’s capable of going past players with ease and producing moments of magic, while he has an eye for goal too.
Leao has scored 80 goals in 291 games for Milan and at his best, notched 15 in just 28 games back in 2023. When compared to Martinelli’s poor return last season, that instantly displays an improvement for the Gunners.
In the current market where players who are not as good as Leao are going for double what Milan now want, this might be the most sensible signing Arsenal could make all summer.