Arsenal in Gabriel Martinelli transfer talks - but there's one non-negotiable

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Tom Weber | Writer

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

Galatasaray have begun exploring a potential transfer for Gabriel Martinelli, but Arsenal's stance on the winger is a sensible one.

The Brazil international is facing an uncertain future at the Emirates due to his contract situation. Martinelli only has a year left on his deal, although Arsenal do have the option to extend it by a further season.

So far, updates on a potential extension have been few and far between. The lack of urgency on the part of Arsenal has been interpreted to mean that they could be open to offers for the 25-year-old this summer, given that they usually try to sort out contracts well in advance.

Current ETV

Gabriel Martinelli

F, M (L)

Arsenal

Gabriel Martinelli

F, M (L)

Arsenal

€40.2M

ETV Range

€36.2M - €44.3M

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And indeed, there was a feeling earlier this year that Martinelli could genuinely be on the way out this summer. However, there hasn't been much in the way of reporting on transfer interest in the winger - until now.

According to Ben Jacobs, Galatasaray made an exploratory approach for Martinelli over the weekend due to the fact that they are struggling to strike a deal for wantaway AC Milan star Rafael Leao.

Arsenal's Martinelli stance makes perfect sense

The journalist adds that Arsenal are not expected to sanction a departure without a replacement, which has been corroborated by FootballTransfers contributor Steve Kay.

This is undeniably the correct stance. Arsenal simply can't afford to let the Brazilian leave unless they have a genuine upgrade already lined up - which isn't the case right now.

The sale of Leandro Trossard to Besiktas and their failed pursuit of Real Madrid superstar Vinicius Jr mean that Arsenal currently only have Martinelli and new signing Christos Tzolis available for the left wing.

The latter has looked really promising in pre-season so far, but data analytics firm SciSports does not believe that the Greece international is at the level to be a starting winger for Arsenal yet.

Martinelli is believed to be significantly further along in his development. In fact, the Brazilian is among the best left-wingers in world football according to the experts.

FootballTransfers already explained last week that Arsenal's transfer stance on Bradley Barcola makes perfect sense after they informed the player that they will not make a move for him unless PSG budge from their €150 million asking price.

Martinelli is thought to be a significantly better player than Barcola right now - and he's already at the club. Supporters may feel that the Gunners could do better than the Brazilian, but the truth is that this is easier said than done.

Besides a handful of elite players like Vinicius, Luis Diaz, Raphinha and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, there simply aren't that many better options out there - and all of them are either unavailable or eye-wateringly expensive.

Martinelli isn't the flashiest or most decisive winger, but Mikel Arteta trusts him, and he gets the job done. Arsenal should not sell the 25-year-old unless they can manage to pull a rabbit out of the hat in the market.