Martinelli joins Al Hilal in club-record £60m Arsenal sale

Gabriel Martinelli has completed a £60 million move from Arsenal to Saudi Pro League side Al Hilal, setting a new club-record sale for the Gunners. The fixed-fee deal, which includes a sell-on clause for Arsenal, surpasses the previous record outgoing fee of £35 million received for Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain’s 2017 transfer to Liverpool.

Deal details and accounting impact

The agreement is reported at €70 million (£60 million; about $81 million) with no performance add-ons, and Arsenal will receive a percentage of any future sale. Because Martinelli joined Arsenal in 2019 as an 18-year-old from Brazilian club Ituano for a low fee (around £7 million), almost the entire £60 million will be booked as pure profit on Arsenal’s accounts.

Martinelli, 25, has signed a long-term contract with Al Hilal—reported as a four-year deal running to 2030—and was expected to begin training immediately, with a debut possible against Al Shabab.

Why the move happened

Martinelli had been linked with a move earlier in the summer, turning down an approach from Galatasaray (around £38.9 million) as he was not keen on a transfer to Turkey at this stage. His departure follows the sale of fellow left-sided forward Leandro Trossard to Besiktas in July and comes as Arsenal brought in Christos Tzolis from Club Brugge to bolster the left wing.

Tzolis started Arsenal’s opening two Premier League wins while Martinelli was absent, and after the opening-day victory over Coventry, former Arsenal striker Ian Wright said on Sky Sports that the treatment of Martinelli left him “uncomfortable” and that the 25-year-old deserved “more respect”. Reports indicate Martinelli fell to third in the left-wing pecking order behind Tzolis and Eberechi Eze.

Martinelli’s Arsenal career in numbers

Martinelli joined the Gunners in 2019 and made 191 Premier League appearances, scoring 41 goals and providing 24 assists, with 62 goals in 278 total appearances across all competitions. He was a key figure in Arsenal’s title-winning campaign last season but made only 11 league starts—the lowest since 2020/21—as his role diminished.

In an official statement, Arsenal said: “Forever a Gunner… Thank you for everything and best of luck, Gabi,” marking the end of a seven-year spell in north London.

Bigger picture: Arsenal’s record sales window

Martinelli’s exit takes Arsenal’s income from player sales this summer to over £120 million, with other departures including Trossard (£17 million), Jakub Kiwior (£14.7–18.9 million), Fabio Vieira (£7.7–8.5 million), Gabriel Jesus (around £8.5 million to Barcelona), and Christian Norgaard (£7 million). Combined with earlier sales, the club is on track for its highest-ever summer intake from transfers, helping fund further recruitment after winning the Premier League.

With Martinelli gone, Bukayo Saka is now the last remaining player from the squad Mikel Arteta inherited in December 2019, underlining how completely the Gunners’ roster has been rebuilt since Arteta took charge.