Thomas Tuchel pushes €45m star out of Arsenal

Updated: 5 Jun 2026 18:33 BST | 4 min read

Tom Weber | Writer

Multilingual sports writer who specialises in European football and American soccer.

Gabriel Martinelli is facing an uncertain future at Arsenal, and it has now been revealed that Bayern Munich are among his list of admirers due to none other than England manager Thomas Tuchel.

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The Brazil international has been one of the most reliable players of the Mikel Arteta era in North London. In fact, perhaps no one typifies the Spaniard's reign quite like Martinelli.

It was Arteta who turned the 24-year-old from a raw teenager into an established Premier League winger. However, like many players over the past six-and-a-half years, Martinelli has increasingly been left behind by the Gunners' transformation into one of Europe's elite clubs.

Current ETV

Gabriel Martinelli

F, M (L)

Arsenal

Gabriel Martinelli

F, M (L)

Arsenal

ETV Range

€44.7M - €54.6M

The winger made 30 appearances in the Premier League last term, but only 11 of them came as a starter. Similarly, half of his 14 Champions League outings were from the beginning. He was the man for the big occasion, though, scoring six goals in Europe.

Heading into the summer window, it is believed that Martinelli is one of the most likely players to depart Arsenal. Some sales will be necessary to fund what is expected to be some major incoming business, and the Brazilian is a very marketable asset.

Bayern's long-standing Martinelli interest

Atletico Madrid are known admirers of Martinelli, but the attacker will also have no shortage of suitors elsewhere in Europe. According to BILD reporter Christian Falk, Bayern Munich have retained their long-standing interest in Martinelli.

This interest first emerged during Thomas Tuchel's ill-fated reign at the Allianz Arena in 2023/24. The current England boss wanted to bring Martinelli to Bayern, but he ultimately didn't last long enough to really make the team his - though he did, of course, sign Harry Kane.

Martinelli still features on Bayern's shortlist of winger options, but Falk emphasises that a transfer looks difficult to pull off at this stage. Bayern's clear priority is signing Ismael Saibari from PSV.

Having missed out on Anthony Gordon to Barcelona, Bayern have changed up their strategy. They want to target a lesser-known player who can be developed by Vincent Kompany.

Players like Martinelli and Morgan Rogers, though they are admired, are not the right profile for Bayern right now. They are not looking for a player who will come in and expect to be a guaranteed starter. They want competition for Luis Diaz, not an outright replacement.

Rogers would be way too expensive anyway. Martinelli, on the other hand, would be affordable, with Falk claiming that Arsenal could be prepared to sell for around €45 million. But the journalist is not convinced that the Brazilian would be willing to play second fiddle to Diaz.

Nevertheless, Martinelli remains one to watch because "he doesn’t have the playing time he’d like in London."

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