Confirmed: Al Hilal sign Gabriel Martinelli
Arsenal have confirmed that Gabriel Martinelli has joined Saudi side Al Hilal in a permanent deal for a club-record sale reported to be €70 million.
The winger departs as a Premier League champion after seven years at Emirates Stadium, having arrived as a teenager from Brazilian fourth-tier side Ituano. His former club are also set for a tidy windfall thanks to a sell-on clause reportedly worth up to 20 per cent. The Gunners will benefit from a similar clause when he next moves.
Thrust into the first team during Unai Emery’s second season, nobody was quite sure what to expect from the skinny 18-year-old. It didn’t take long to find out. Martinelli scored twice on both his League Cup and Europa League debuts and quickly established himself as one of the few bright spots in a difficult campaign.
His first league goal, on his full Premier League debut against West Ham during Freddie Ljungberg’s interim spell in charge, helped end a seven-game winless run. He continued to impress following Mikel Arteta’s appointment, most memorably with a brilliant solo effort at Chelsea, before the Covid-19 pandemic interrupted the season and knee surgery brought his campaign to a premature end. The injury also ruled him out of Arsenal’s FA Cup final win over Chelsea.
Rewarded with a new contract, Martinelli endured a more frustrating 2020/21 campaign as the Gunners stumbled to an eighth-place finish. Arteta’s faith in him remained, though, and he was part of the crop of young, hungry players, alongside Bukayo Saka and Emile Smith Rowe, increasingly entrusted with dragging the team forward.
The following season, Martinelli established himself as the first-choice left winger, making 36 appearances as Arsenal narrowly missed out on Champions League qualification. His real breakthrough, much like the team’s, came a year later.
In 2022/23, Martinelli’s blistering pace and direct running made him a key part of an Arsenal side that unexpectedly challenged for the title. He finished the campaign with 15 goals and seven assists, with eight of those strikes coming during a 10-game spell in February and March as the Gunners pushed Manchester City all the way.
The hope was that Martinelli, like Saka, would push on from there, but while the Brazilian remained a dependable option on the left, he never quite matched those numbers. He registered eight goals in 44 appearances in 2023/24 and 10 in 51 the following season as the Gunners twice more finished as Premier League runners-up.
Increasingly, his minutes were shared with Leandro Trossard, whose eye for goal meant he often got the nod in big games.
There were still plenty of notable highlights. Martinelli bagged a vital late equaliser against Manchester City in last season’s 1-1 draw at the Emirates and scored six times in the Champions League group phase as Arteta’s side progressed to the final in Budapest. Four goals against League Two opposition in the FA Cup helped pad out his numbers, but not enough to stop a new left winger becoming a priority for the club this summer.
That Martinelli survived as long as he did under Arteta is a testament to his talent, hard work and humility. He arrived as a £6 million punt at a time when Arsenal were drifting and leaves as a Premier League champion with 62 goals to his name.
He also became one of the players most closely associated with Arsenal’s journey from the mess of those early Arteta years to the team we see today, providing much-needed excitement when there wasn’t always a great deal else to enjoy. The sight of him tearing down the left, head down and defenders desperately backpedalling, became a familiar one.
Unfortunately, football at the highest level is ruthless, and the axe has been hanging over him for a while. Arsenal have spent several transfer windows looking at left wingers, and the arrival of Christos Tzolis, and the failed pursuit of compatriot Vinicius Junior, won’t have gone unnoticed.
That he departs with a Premier League medal feels fitting. He was always a favourite on the terraces, and the fact his name was easily adaptable for chants didn’t hurt. But the affection went deeper than catchy songs. Supporters appreciated the enthusiasm, directness and relentless running that characterised his game from the moment he arrived. And he clearly reciprocated that love.
Still only 25, Martinelli could easily have another decade of football ahead of him. Perhaps that’s factored into his decision to move to Saudi Arabia, even with Galatasaray also making an offer. The financial package, rumoured to be north of £350,000 a week, allows him to make hay now while leaving plenty of time for another crack at European football further down the line.
Whatever happens next, helping us back to the top means he’ll always have a place in Arsenal folklore.
We’re sad to see him go.
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