Martinelli set for £50m Arsenal exit as Arteta's treatment unsettles dressing room

Gabriel Martinelli is poised to leave Arsenal for Saudi side Al-Hilal in a deal worth around £50million, which would eclipse the club’s existing transfer record, after being excluded from Mikel Arteta’s squad at the start of the 2026/27 season. The 25-year-old Brazilian has not featured in either the Community Shield win over Manchester City or the opening-day 3-0 victory over Coventry, and reports suggest he did not receive a medal following the Community Shield triumph.

Martinelli has spent seven years at the Emirates, scoring 62 goals in 278 appearances, but with less than a year remaining on his contract, Arsenal have decided to cash in now rather than risk losing him for nothing. He had previously rejected a move to Galatasaray before Al-Hilal emerged as the frontrunner. The reported £50m fee would surpass the £35m Liverpool paid for Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain in 2017, currently Arsenal’s record sale.

The manner of his exit has generated friction. ESPN Brazil reports that Martinelli is unhappy at how he has been sidelined, and there has been notable sympathy from within the dressing room. Arsenal legend Ian Wright, speaking after the Coventry win, was direct in his criticism of how the club have managed the situation.

“With respect to Martinelli and the way he’s being treated at the moment, it really makes me uncomfortable,” Wright said. “He always gives 100 per cent — we’re not saying he’s the greatest, but he’s come up with some big moments for Arsenal in big games, and the way he’s being treated at the end here — there’s ways of doing that should suit him as well.”

Wright added: “For him to be nowhere near it just makes me feel a bit sad for him. I think he’s done enough in this squad to be treated with a bit more respect than he’s been treated at the moment.”

Arsenal’s push to move on Martinelli, along with Gabriel Jesus and Fabio Vieira, before the September 1 transfer deadline has been a key plank of the club’s summer strategy. The funds raised are expected to help finance a marquee attacking signing, with Atletico Madrid’s Julian Alvarez still understood to be a target. Martinelli would follow Leandro Trossard, Jakub Kiwior, and Christian Norgaard out of the club this summer.