Gabriel Martinelli ‘Offer’ Gives Arsenal Chance of Breaking Embarrassing Record

The Gunners typically do not do well extracting good money for players leaving the club.

Gabriel Martinelli is considered expendable. | Marc Atkins/Getty Images

Arsenal’s first reported offer received for Gabriel Martinelli would break a club record that has stood for nine years since Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain moved to Liverpool. But the Gunners are still hoping to extract more for the Brazilian winger they are open to selling.

The freshly crowned champions lag way behind Premier League rivals when it comes to selling, either willfully dispensing with players on the cheap or failing to negotiate big sales. That the club’s record sale is still a deal struck almost a decade ago is bizarre, not least given how player trading has evolved in a transfer market many would say has become out of control.

Oxlade-Chamberlain was sold for £35 million ($47.2 million at today’s rate) in the summer of 2017. The Englishman jumped ship after growing frustrated at Arsenal, although Liverpool ultimately didn’t benefit as they hoped due to a slew of injuries and released him in 2023.

According to The Athletic, Galatasaray are proposing a £38 million ($51.3 million) fee to take Martinelli from the Premier League to Türkiye’s Süper Lig. Leaving is something he appears reluctant to do unless it is for a comparable top European league, which the Süper Lig is not. There had been rumored interest from Barcelona prior to the Catalans signing Anthony Gordon.

Arsenal are considered to be “open” to selling Martinelli, but the Daily Mail suggests the club is looking for a figure around £50 million ($67.5 million) instead. Reported interest from Roma, who finished third in Serie A last season and will be in the Champions League this coming season, might be more appealing. But there is no suggestion at this stage of an alternative offer.

---

How Arsenal’s Record of Selling Players Compares to Rivals

Arsenal have never taken a fee over £35 million. | John Powell/Liverpool FC/Getty Images

In a soccer environment where clubs increasingly view players as tradable commodities in a world of strict financial regulation, the art of selling cannot be ignored. Even elite clubs cannot afford to buy high without balancing the books somewhere along the way—and it doesn’t just have to be because a bigger team has made an offer that is too good to refuse.

Selling players you have no use for at a high level is an important skill that Chelsea appear to have mastered. Manchester City could also end up turning a profit on Tijjani Reijnders, a player deemed not good enough to command a regular place, just one year after signing him.

Arsenal’s club record Oxlade-Chamberlain sale doesn’t come close to cracking the top three at any of their five main Premier League rivals.

Club	Most Expensive Sales
Arsenal	Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (£35 million, 2017); Folarin Balogun (£34.3 million, 2023); Eddie Nketiah (£30 million, 2024)
Chelsea	Eden Hazard (£149 million, 2019); Kai Havertz (£65 million, 2023); Oscar (£60 million, 2017)
Liverpool	Philippe Coutinho (£145 million, 2018); Luis Suárez (£75 million, 2014); Luis Díaz (£65.5 million, 2025)
Man City	Julián Alvarez (£81.5 million, 2024); Raheem Sterling (£47.5 million); Ferran Torres (£46.3 million)
Man Utd	Cristiano Ronaldo (£80 million, 2009); Romelu Lukaku (£74 million, 2019); Ángel Di María (£44.3 million, 2015)
Tottenham	Harry Kane (£100 million, 2023); Gareth Bale (£85 million, 2013); Luka Vušković (£50 million, 2026)

---

Why Arsenal Need to Upgrade Martinelli

Martinelli is not a player who can start regularly for a club with elite aspirations. | Justin Setterfield/Getty Images

Selling Gabriel Martinelli would allow the Gunners to strengthen and upgrade on the left wing, having already traded in Leandro Trossard for a younger model, Christos Tzolis from Club Brugge for $45.7 million (£34 million).

It won’t be Vinícius Júnior, with news of Arsenal’s opportunistic interest in the Brazilian winger directly preceding an announcement of his new Real Madrid contract. Rafael Leão is still available after telling AC Milan he’s interested in exploring a transfer. There could be a battle with Liverpool over Bradley Barcola at the top end of the market, while Chelsea’s Pedro Neto has also been linked with a move—and Manchester City are credited with interest.

Arsenal paid a nominal fee to sign Martinelli from little known Brazilian club Ituano in 2019. He’s made 278 appearances since then, but his production as a dual-threat winger last season was disappointing for a player with starting aspirations at an elite club. Martinelli had only five goal involvements in the Premier League and just one after the Champions League’s league phase.

---