Gabriel Martinelli Leaves Arsenal in a Transfer That Doesn’t Really Serve Anyone

Gabriel Martinelli will continue his career in Saudi Arabia with Al Hilal following the completion of a permanent transfer from Arsenal—the most expensive sale in Gunners history.

Al Hilal, Saudi champions in six of the last 10 seasons, have paid $81.2 million (£60 million) for Martinelli, almost double what Arsenal sold Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain for in 2017.

The Brazilian had previously resisted a transfer to Galatasaray but was seemingly given little choice by Mikel Arteta’s ruthless insistence that Arsenal can no longer offer him a role. Despite playing as much in preseason as expected following the World Cup, Martinelli didn’t even make the bench for the Community Shield or the team’s first two Premier League games.

Arsenal went into the summer wanting to improve the team that had finished 2025–26 as Premier League champions and Champions League runners-up. Left wing, where Martinelli had lost his starting place to Leandro Trossard, was seemingly identified as a position to target.

Christos Tzolis replaced Trossard, sold to Beşiktaş in July. But Arsenal tried and failed to recruit several superstar wingers—turned down by Morgan Rogers, Vinícius Júnior and Bradley Barcola. Arsenal then seemingly declined to seriously pursue a deal for Malick Fofana.

Arsenal End Up With Left-Wing Gap

Despite having plenty to prove after stepping up from Belgian club soccer and struggling during a previous spell in England, Tzolis has impressed in the early weeks of the season.

But selling Martinelli without being successful in the pursuit of an elite left winger has ended up leaving Arsenal short, given that the Gunners expect to retain their Premier League title this season and go deep in the Champions League, FA Cup and Carabao Cup.

Tzolis will need support. Eberechi Eze can operate from the left. The Gunners also captured Manchester United academy talent James Scanlon over the weekend, with the 19-year-old attracted by the club trajectory and the individual best served by Martinelli leaving without being replaced.

Martinelli is a good, if not outstanding, player with 278 Arsenal appearances. Effectively forcing him out, with the circumstances as they are and no actual replacement, doesn’t make much sense. Arsenal have made decent money from the deal, but at what cost to squad depth?

Martinelli Not Guaranteed to Start for Al Hilal

Welcome to Al-Hilal, Martinelli 🤩🔝 pic.twitter.com/4sX5N6jaJb
— AlHilal Saudi Club (@Alhilal_EN) September 3, 2026

Joining Al Hilal is not an obvious win for Martinelli from an on-field perspective. His bank balance will be massively inflated by a large salary not subject to any income tax, but Martinelli will not have a free ride on the pitch because of the existing competition for his favored position.

Crysencio Summerville joined Al Hilal from West Ham United in July and has started all four Pro League matches so far in 2026–27. The Dutchman scored once and assisted twice in the club’s third game, a 5–1 win over Al Khaleej, and also netted in the 3–0 win over Al Ahli on Tuesday. He will not be easy to dislodge.

Martinelli also faces competition on the left flank from Al Hilal legend Salem Al Dawsari. The 35-year-old, who has 500 appearances and 142 goals since debuting for the club in 2011, is in the final stages of his recovery from a summer operation on a knee tendon injury.

In the same way that joining Al Hilal last summer did very little for Darwin Núñez’s career—the Uruguayan has now signed with newly promoted Al Diriyah on loan—it’s tough to see how, other than monetarily, Martinelli will benefit.

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