Key facts
- Martinelli, 25, transferred to Al-Hilal for £60m guaranteed, including a sell-on fee
- Four-year contract at Al-Hilal; deal significantly exceeds his reported £180,000-per-week Arsenal wages
- Arsenal’s record transfer fee received; surpasses the £40m paid by Liverpool for Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain in 2017
- Joined Arsenal from Ituano in 2019; made 53 appearances and 11 goals last season when Gunners won the Premier League title
- Left out of Arsenal’s first two matchday squads; manager Mikel Arteta indicated he was not part of his plans for the season
The transfer
Gabriel Martinelli, the 25-year-old Arsenal forward, has completed a move to Al-Hilal of the Saudi Pro League for a guaranteed fee of £60 million, which includes a sell-on clause. He has signed a four-year contract with the club. This fee makes Martinelli Arsenal’s record sale, surpassing the £40 million Liverpool paid for Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain in 2017.
Why he left
Martinelli had 12 months remaining on his Arsenal contract when the move was finalized. Manager Mikel Arteta had made clear that the Brazilian international was not part of his plans for the 2026–27 season, and Martinelli was left out of Arsenal’s opening two matchday squads. Former Arsenal striker Ian Wright was critical of how the club handled the situation on Sky Sports, saying he felt uncomfortable with the way Martinelli was being treated and that there should have been a better way to manage his departure that suited his interests as well.
His Arsenal record
Martinelli joined Arsenal from Brazilian club Ituano in 2019, giving him a seven-year tenure with the Gunners. Last season, he made 53 appearances across all competitions and scored 11 goals as part of the squad that won the Premier League title for the first time since 2004. His reported weekly wage at Arsenal had been £180,000, but the compensation Al-Hilal offered is understood to be substantially higher; his four-year contract with the Saudi club is believed to be worth approximately £17 million annually.
Al-Hilal and the Saudi Pro League
Martinelli joins a Saudi Pro League side that are currently joint-top of the league with Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al-Nassr. The club is managed by Simone Inzaghi. Martinelli will link up with several other recent arrivals: English striker Ollie Watkins, who left Aston Villa in a £51 million deal, and Dutch winger Crysencio Summerville, who joined from West Ham following their relegation from the Premier League.
Arsenal’s transfer activity
Martinelli’s exit follows that of fellow Brazil international Gabriel Jesus, who moved to Barcelona for £8.6 million the same week. Arsenal also sold midfielder Fábio Vieira to Hamburg on the deadline but did not bring in replacement players. The club earned approximately £3 million from a sell-on clause related to defender Brook Norton-Cuffy’s £14 million move from Genoa to Hull but missed out on around £7 million when a proposed deal for forward Folarin Balogun to Everton collapsed.
Sources
Featured photo: David via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)