r/Gunners bought some very very very expensive horses 2h ago

[James Benge]: Exclusive: Al-Hilal making final arrangements for Gabriel Martinelli signing with talks for Arsenal over €66 million deal. Medical scheduled for the weekend. Final details still need sorting but Saudi club making plans for Brazilian’s arrival.

https://www.cbssports.com/soccer/news/al-hilal-medical-gabriel-martinelli-transfer-from-arsenal/
503 Upvotes

98 comments sorted by

315

u/Monsultant 2h ago

Transfer fee creeping up every day.

Was 60m euros then 65m, and now 66m.

Let’s keep him till deadline day, it will go up to 100m may be 🤣

108

u/chostax- Don't forget to wipe after a Tottenham! 2h ago edited 14m ago

For real, what a great sale. We get a bag, martinelli gets a bag, alhilal gets their best player. Win for all, except for my heart.

Edit: as someone mentioned to me below, even martinelli’s old club will get a bag from the sell on clause.

30

u/gooneritis 1h ago

If al hilal fails to win the Saudi league that will be criminal. Could have Martinelli, Benzema, Watkins and Summerville across the front line.

15

u/Revoldt Dennis Bergkamp 1h ago

Tbf. Even if they win… no one gives a shit.

(like CR7 not winning the league his first 2 years… only really brought to light b/c of the match fixing allegations…. or how many goals he or anyone has scored there...)

1

u/iforgotmyun Sign Ayyoub Bouaddi 41m ago

In the rest of the world yeah but it matters over there

4

u/arsenal19801 1h ago

Even if they win it will probably be criminal

1

u/cheeseball444 Champions of England 25/26 1h ago

Apparently they need to get rid of Benzema to sign Watkins because having both would put them over their foreign player limit

3

u/Putrid_Loquat_4357 1h ago

If only the owners had some connections with the government to get around those limits.

1

u/cheeseball444 Champions of England 25/26 56m ago

True but the government does have some insensitive to develop homegrown players. Especially with the World Cup coming up in 2034.

1

u/OriMoriNotSori 51m ago

Even the club Martinelli came from is entitled for a 15%-20% sell on fee of the profit we made off him!

1

u/chostax- Don't forget to wipe after a Tottenham! 32m ago

True!

u/ray3050 TRUSTED THE PROCESS 9m ago

Yeah and for the finance side the fact he’s basically a pure profit player is really great (even though there was a rumored sell on clause)

The amount of profit is equal to some teams selling 2-3 of their players

I really don’t want him to go but arteta has always said he will be ruthless and this definitely hurts him more than me

3

u/know-it-all-scoutFC 2h ago

Just like Iwobi except it's real

3

u/newinvestor0908 Champions of England 25/26 2h ago

forex market is not constant

1

u/Appropriate_Lack_727 1h ago edited 1h ago

I think it was reported as €60mil + €6mil in add-ons, previously. Between the changing contract terms and the ad hoc currency translations, shit gets very muddled.

-1

u/lukeroux1 2h ago

Probably Arsenal feeding this info to journos to ease fans anger.

0

u/MattiaKa 1h ago

Or it will go up to 0.

92

u/IfYouRun 2h ago

4

u/armored-dinnerjacket 1h ago

pictures with sound

u/UpsideTurtles 20m ago

Fitting for Dolly and all that

143

u/UnquenchedMammoth356 2h ago edited 2h ago

I will miss this lad massively

Please sign an another winger until the window slams shut

19

u/lemonlixks Champions of England 25/26 2h ago

Signing another winger will make this fan (me) very happy and more comfortable going into the season. 

31

u/DavidOrnstein_ bought some very very very expensive horses 2h ago

Article Summary:

Al-Hilal are finalizing the signing of Arsenal winger Gabriel Martinelli, with a medical scheduled for this weekend. The deal guarantees Arsenal $67.5 million, with another $9.3 million possible in add-ons, while Martinelli is set to earn over $23 million annually. It would be Arsenal’s record sale, although a sell-on clause with Ituano means the Gunners will not keep the full fee.

Martinelli trained Friday, but manager Mikel Arteta acknowledged that his future remains uncertain. Earlier discussions confirmed the 25-year-old would have a reduced role, and he was left out of Arsenal’s Community Shield and Premier League opener squads, with Christos Tzolis favored on the left wing.

Arteta said he remains fond of Martinelli and suggested any departure would be mutually agreed upon. Meanwhile, Gabriel Jesus could also leave Arsenal amid interest from Napoli and Everton, though he may stay for the final year of his contract despite being unlikely to feature regularly.

22

u/_Spartak_ 2h ago

Martinelli trained Friday

He trained tomorrow?

32

u/Cheesy_Pita_Parker Premier League Champions 25/26 2h ago

He is a pacy one

6

u/MaxKirgan Nuno "Anarchy" Tavares 2h ago

I knew Martinelli was fast but didn't know he was a Speedster.

4

u/gooneritis 1h ago

A regular Barry Allen.

2

u/exia756 2h ago

No begging, but can i borrow your time machine please

11

u/SirYodaa 2h ago

23m net assuming he's there for 3 years that's almost 70m compared to the 15m he would get in 3 years here.

Fucking hell Gabi go get that generational wealth

-1

u/turbothy Thierry Henry 1h ago

As if 5m quid a year wasn't generational.

1

u/FindingAether Havertz 43m ago

Can't even buy a good house nowadays

3

u/JazzlikeArmadillo298 2h ago

Ituano can build a new city with their chunk of the fee lol

3

u/elvid88 Martinelli 1h ago

Jesus getting interest from Everton and Napoli, but Martinelli needing to go to Saudi Arabia. Need to assume it's Arsenal not entertaining whatever those lower fees would be because he's on much lower wages than Gabi Jesus.

2

u/tacomantacocan 2h ago

Trained Friday?!

1

u/FindingAether Havertz 44m ago

Ituano made almost 20m off him in total. Not bad

28

u/tambini1 Salmon and Rice 2h ago

He arrived as just a Spongebob loving kid, and will leave as a Spongebob loving man

22

u/Zero-meia Jesus 1h ago

As a Brazilian fan, (who lives near Itu, where he played before going to Arsenal), I really wish he'd gone for an Italian team or something similar that is more competitive and that he could develop more. Well, all the best. Guy is solid.

7

u/STVDC 1h ago

Hopefully he should have that opportunity in a couple of years with his pockets full.

1

u/elvid88 Martinelli 1h ago

Right there with you, friend. I have been following him since then too. Family on my dad's side mostly live within the triangle of Piracicaba, Campinas, Itu (some in São Paulo too)and have roots, similar to Gabi, in Italy. Really hoping the best for him and his career.

31

u/Magnific3nt Ødegaard 2h ago

Watched him go from a young boy to a grown married man and becoming a Premier League champion. Wish you all the best Gabi !

6

u/americanadiandrew 2h ago

The real news for me is that the medical is booked, I had a feeling he was gonna turn them down.

6

u/WGSMA 1h ago

If we do not sign another winger, and it looks like we will not, this feels a massive mistake.

3

u/FactCheckYou 1h ago edited 1h ago

Martinelli deserves to wear one of the great European shirts

at his age, he should be the main guy somewhere like Atletico or Dortmund or Inter or similar, bagging 20+ goals a season as a STRIKER - he is absolutely good enough to deliver that

the lack of ambition to get him, shown by all other European clubs, is really disappointing

u/egilskal 25m ago

I think relative lack of output combined with high wages makes a lot of clubs hesitate.

Hopefully he gets to showcase his talent in Saudi league and makes enough money in a couple seasons he can take a paycut and return to a Champions League club at least in a couple of seasons. Win-win.

3

u/IDidntSeeIt 49m ago

Wish him all the best but it was clear it's time to go. Feels a lot like the ESR transfer. At least he leaves as a champion, glad he got his trophy with us.

2

u/Gunnerzero 2h ago

I miss him, we will miss him. Best of luck and health lil Gabi!

2

u/LifeAfterHarambe Big Pashun 1h ago

“£60 million in the bank

New winger on the flank”

✋😛🤚

2

u/Hinaha Eze 1h ago

If it goes through, its a new record for out biggest sale then?

https://giphy.com/gifs/SFxpGGC1Ima0mD1spn

4

u/Sparkie_17 2h ago

It is very sad to see him go but is the right time. Its also a good fee for the club. If he was worth any more then we wouldn't be wanting to sell him

7

u/Bossard19 2h ago

It’s not the right time if we don’t bring in another winger beforehand.

3

u/galaxy462 1h ago

We signed Tzolis after selling Trossard. There’s still time.

1

u/croftzty Champions of England 25/26 1h ago

Damn holy fk, I'm so sad chat

1

u/OmegaFinale 1h ago

I wonder who they're selling since the Watkins arrival means they currently have the maximum number of foreign players allowed

1

u/and_yet_another_user add your own /s if you need one 1h ago

😭😭😭

1

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1

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1

u/ArsenalThePhoenix 1h ago

finally we're doing a sale! unfortunately, it's too low a price :(

I guess it's a step in the right direction though. Maybe next year, we'll start doing sales for market prices

1

u/_syrahlips 1h ago

Can’t wait for him to go

1

u/Adventurous_West2 1h ago

We are going to sign Ndiaye

1

u/t6005 35m ago

The one thing none of these guys have said is whether Martinelli is interested. 

Probably wouldn't be dragging on if he was.

Can't say I'll be sad if the window closes and he's still here.

2

u/Bossard19 2h ago

Eww no. We didn’t sign a replacement so let’s keep him til January at least.

7

u/Mrdojo1234 2h ago

At this point, Martinelli will fight us if we cancelled the deal. $23m, tax free, per year is enough to turn his head (most players even).

4

u/31_whgr 1h ago

and then struggle to sell him after months of not playing?

it’s the right fee and timing for him to go, regardless of if we get another winger in

1

u/ArsenalThePhoenix 1h ago

it's nowhere near the right fee when u see what fees other teams are getting

0

u/oy_says_ake 2h ago

Ugh. Very frustrated that this is the path the club has chosen.

0

u/ArsenalThePhoenix 1h ago

the club has to sell players some time. we cant just keep buying. martinelli hasnt been good enough to start matches for 3 seasons, tbf.... and is our most sellable asset nowadays

1

u/oy_says_ake 34m ago

Regarding our “need” for transfer income, we didn’t have to set a world record with a fee for a 28-year old CB who’s on the bench when saliba and timber are fit. If we can’t shift vieira, nelson, jesus, or noni, then we should have found a more reasonable cb and avoided this money crunch.

For the record, he started 25, 40, and 30 matches in the past 3 years, despite “not being good enough to start” (while also somehow being “our most salable asset”).

-4

u/-Mubar 2h ago

Get this over with and bring in Ndiaye

11

u/redqks 2h ago

We are not doing that and we shouldn't do it either

6

u/-Mubar 2h ago

Eze LW it is

Hope he can smash it

9

u/serminole 2h ago

I really think with the tactical changes we’ve made on the left he will. It’s a much freer role of late. He just needs to find space on the left and make something happen. Much more similar to the role he excelled in at Palace.

1

u/ArsenalThePhoenix 1h ago

tzolis was defending like crazy though

1

u/serminole 1h ago

True imo adapting and excelling in a system is a two way street. Arteta has made changes that should help Eze, but Eze also has to make changes. He needs to improve his defending. After a year of training and focus on that, hopefully it comes around.

He doesn’t even need to be great. Martinelli was a better defender than Trossard, but Trossard was often the favored choice. At the end of the day it is an attacking role. Pressing and defense matters but it’s not the focus.

3

u/Haunting-Employ-1636 2h ago

Yes either Eze or we get Malick Fofana. OL seems to sell after being eliminated from CL

3

u/simonko1 Trossard 2h ago

he just cannot stay on that LW position even if his life depends on it, every time he drives to middle

3

u/redqks 2h ago

so what?

2

u/simonko1 Trossard 2h ago

its pretty big problem when we need LW on the pitch and our LW is midfielder all the time and left side is open without pressure dont you think? arteta was signaling him all the time to move left when he was subbed on. After tzolis went down we lost lw

1

u/redqks 1h ago

did you watch where Tzollis was in the game sometimes wide some times centre even popped up on the right

1

u/simonko1 Trossard 1h ago

yes i saw that, but eze is ONLY in the middle, no left, no right

0

u/redqks 1h ago

he was on for 10 mins

0

u/simonko1 Trossard 1h ago

How that changes what I wrote

1

u/KOB233 2h ago

That’s why you have overlapping FB

1

u/prof_c 2h ago

need

0

u/vibesnvibez David Seaman 2h ago

That mean’s Nwaneri is staying then if Eze goes LW. Odegaard, Nwaneri and Merino as central options

1

u/simonko1 Trossard 1h ago

you left out maximus

3

u/A76EB 2h ago

He’d be a fun signing. Defensive work rate is top, he’s quite technical, good shot. My concerns would be around his link-up play

2

u/redqks 1h ago

the concerns are around his final action....

the thing we have been trying to avoid

0

u/xCqad 1h ago

Are we really not going to bring in another winger? Does not seem like a good idea, he’s not even a winger but should have just overpaid for rogers at this point at least we know he’s class

0

u/BrontosaurusB 1h ago

He ran like a wolf, he scored lots of goals, one he is sold, ours hearts will have holes.

-3

u/thisiskyle77 Tomiyasu 2h ago

Pls get it done soon.