Martinelli joins Al Hilal in Arsenal club-record sale

Gabriel Martinelli has completed a move to Al Hilal in a deal worth £60m, making it the biggest sale in Arsenal's history.

The agreement, structured as a fixed fee with a sell-on clause included, surpasses the £40m Arsenal received from Liverpool for Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain back in the summer of 2017. Martinelli originally arrived at Arsenal as an 18-year-old from Brazilian side Ituano, meaning the sale registers as pure profit on the club's books.

The move to Saudi Arabia follows Martinelli's decision earlier in the summer to turn down an approach from Galatasaray. The Turkish club had offered around £38.9m for the forward, but he showed little interest in a switch to Turkey at that stage.

With the 25-year-old's exit now confirmed, Arsenal's total income from player sales this summer has climbed past £120m. Martinelli's departure for the Saudi Pro League comes shortly after fellow left-sided forward Leandro Trossard was sold to Besiktas in July.

Arsenal had already reinforced that flank by signing Christos Tzolis from Club Brugge, who started both of the club's opening Premier League victories while Martinelli was left out of the squad entirely. After the opening-day win over Coventry, former Arsenal striker Ian Wright told Sky Sports that the way Martinelli had been treated left him uncomfortable, adding that the forward deserved more respect from the club.

A career in numbers

Martinelli joined the Gunners in 2019 and went on to make 191 Premier League appearances, scoring 41 goals and setting up 24 more. Last season, as Arsenal ended a 22-year wait for the Premier League title, he featured in 30 league matches but started just 11 of them, his lowest tally of starts since the 2020/21 campaign.

His time under Mikel Arteta began with a string of injuries, yet he found his best form in the 2022/23 season, scoring 15 goals as Arsenal mounted their first genuine title challenge in 19 years. More recently, though, his standing dropped, with Tzolis and Eberechi Eze both overtaking him in the pecking order on the left side of Arteta's attack.

Saka now the last man standing from Arteta's early squad

Martinelli's exit leaves Bukayo Saka as the only remaining player from the squad Arteta inherited when he took charge. The Spaniard arrived at Arsenal on December 20, 2019, becoming Unai Emery's permanent successor after Freddie Ljungberg's brief spell as interim boss. Since then, Arteta has overhauled a squad that once included the likes of David Luiz and Alexandre Lacazette, guiding the club from 15th place to Premier League champions.

William Saliba, though technically an Arsenal player when Arteta arrived, was out on loan at Saint-Etienne for the 2019/20 season and did not make his Premier League debut for the club until the opening match of the 2022/23 campaign, a 2-0 win over Crystal Palace.

Martinelli's departure adds to a busy summer of outgoing deals at Arsenal. Fabio Vieira left for Porto in a £7.7m move, while Jakub Kiwior joined the same club for £19m. Trossard's switch to Besiktas was completed for £17m, Gabriel Jesus moved to Barcelona for £8.6m, and Christian Norgaard signed for Everton in a £7m deal. Ethan Nwaneri has joined Borussia Dortmund on loan, and Karl Hein completed a £2.6m move to Werder Bremen.