Arsenal complete record sale as Martinelli makes €70m transfer to Al-Hilal

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Suraj Radia | Editor

Gabriel Martinelli has completed his record sale from Arsenal to Al-Hilal for a fee of €70 million, the club have confirmed.

Martinelli joined Arsenal in 2019 as an 18-year-old and went on to make 278 appearances for the club in all competitions, netting 62 times.

Current ETV

Gabriel Martinelli

F, M (L)

Arsenal

Gabriel Martinelli

F, M (L)

Arsenal

€36.2M

ETV Range

€32.6M - €39.8M

View full profile

The Brazil international was in the final year of his contract at the Emirates and, while Arsenal had an option to extend his deal, they opted to cash in on the 25-year-old after he fell down the pecking order under Mikel Arteta.

Martinelli had been told by Arteta that he was surplus to requirements, having been left out of the matchday squads to start the season, in a decision that Arsenal legend Ian Wright criticised.

The €70m deal eclipses Arsenal’s previous record sale, which was set in 2017 by Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain’s €38m move to Liverpool, giving the Gunners some much-needed balance to their books after spending €227m during the summer.

The deal also includes a sell-on clause for Arsenal but does not include add-ons, with Saudi Arabia’s transfer window still open, allowing for the deal to be completed.

Martinelli leaves Arsenal as Arteta criticised for lack of ‘respect’

Martinelli netted just once in the Premier League last season, having only started 11 games and seeing his gametime drastically decrease amid the arrivals of Eberechi Eze, Noni Madueke and Viktor Gyokeres last summer.

With Christos Tzolis being signed in July and youngster Max Dowman continuing to grow into the first team, Martinelli found himself out in the cold and was told he was not part of Arteta’s plans.

The situation was criticised by Wright last month, who told Sky Sports: “The way Martinelli is being treated at the moment, it really makes me feel uncomfortable.

"I know they might want him out, and a lot of people might say, 'yeah, it's time for him to move him on'. But there's ways of doing that and it should suit him as well, how he wants to leave.

"Not being involved in the squad, not being spoken to, he doesn't know what's going on. And yes, I know this - he doesn't know what is happening. He's done enough with this squad to be treated with a little bit more respect than he's being treated with at the moment."

Arteta, meanwhile, defended the decision last week, saying: "You might not like what you've been told, but if it's truthful, if it's the reality, if it's honest and it's going to help you to make better decisions and have more clarity for the next steps in your career, you have to do that.

"Everything has a start and has an end. And when it comes to the end, our duty, and our responsibility is to do it in the best possible way, maintaining the respect and admiration for the player and the relationship, but understanding that at the end, we need to make football decisions."

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