Gabriel Martinelli brutally snubs Mikel Arteta immediately after 'uncomfortable' £60m Arsenal exit

Gabriel Martinelli completed a £60million move to Al-Hilal on Thursday, having been frozen out of Mikel Arteta's first-team, with the Brazilian snubbing his former head coach in the aftermath

Gabriel Martinelli ruthlessly omitted Mikel Arteta from his parting statement with Arsenal in frosty fashion, having joined Al-Hilal in a £60million move on Thursday.

The 25-year-old found himself deemed surplus to requirements at the Emirates Stadium this summer, with Christos Tzolis and Ebere Eze taking the forefront in Arteta's starting XI.

As a result, Martinelli was linked with a number of clubs in Turkey and Saudi Arabia, before eventually settling on Pro League giants, Al-Hilal.

The Brazilian flew out to the Middle East earlier this week for a medical, before he was unveiled by Al-Hilal on Thursday - with Arsenal also sharing a message of thanks for the left-winger's services since 2019.

The club wrote: "Forever a Gunner. The club can confirm that Gabriel Martinelli has joined Al-Hilal on a permanent deal. Thank you for everything and best of luck, Gabi."

Martinelli also took to social media to share a heartfelt tribute of his own to the club, albeit, without so much as mentioning Arteta after their relationship seemingly dissolved.

He wrote: "I can only thank the staff and my teammates. Thank you to the chefs, kit staff, doctors, doormen, security staff, media team, cleaning staff, physios, and every single teammate who has been part of my story from 2019 until today. Thank you to everyone who helped me grow during this journey.

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"And to the fans, thank you for everything. Since my first day, you made me feel at home. Every time I stepped on the pitch, despite everything, I tried to give everything I had for this shirt. To Arsenal, thank you for believing in me and giving me the chance to show myself to the world.

"Most of all, I want to thank my family and my wife, who have been by my side throughout this entire journey, giving me all the emotional support I needed to overcome the challenges that only we truly know. It has been a long journey, too much history and now it has come to an end.

"I’m writing this with tears in my eyes, so hard to put 7 years into words. From 35 to 11. Once a Gunner, Always a Gunner. Goodbye, and thank you again."

It comes after Ian Wright lambasted the club's treatment of Martinelli behind closed doors in the build-up to his exit, citing how "uncomfortable" the situation from his former club made him feel.

Speaking with Sky Sports after Arsenal's opening night win against Coventry City, Wright explained: "With respect to Martinelli and the way he’s being treated at the moment, it really makes me uncomfortable.

"He always gives 100%, we’re not saying he’s the greatest, but he’s come up with some big moments for Arsenal in big games, and the way he’s being treated at the end here – I know they might want him out and there’s a lot of guys saying it’s time for him to move on, but there’s ways of doing that should suit him as well."

Asked what he meant by the treatment, Wright added: "Not being in the squad tonight, not being spoken to, doesn’t know what’s going on."

He continued: "Yes I do know this, I know this. Not being involved in the Community Shield squad, not being involved tonight, he doesn’t know what’s happening, he’s got a year left.

"If you bring Vini in, that kind of level, Martinelli can say to himself, ‘Well okay they’ve brought him in and Tzolis, I might be third.' But if you’re bringing in Tzolis and Madueke’s there, you’re thinking to yourself, ‘I’ve got something to offer here.'

"So for him to be nowhere near it, just makes me feel a bit sad for him. I think he’s done enough in this squad to be treated with a bit more respect than he’s been treated at the moment."