Gabriel Martinelli: The £6m punt who leaves Arsenal with a legacy that will last a lifetime

Brazilian should be remembered as one of the club’s best signings of this era

He signed for the Gunners in the summer of 2019, arriving for £6million from Brazilian side Ituano.

Martinelli joined a club battling tension at all levels. Unai Emery had just overseen a league collapse and a European final defeat to Chelsea, while the Kroenkes faced angry accusations from several supporters' groups that they simply did not care.

Just a couple of weeks after Martinelli's arrival, Josh Kroenke's statement for the defence was a clear reminder to the Brazilian of what he was joining.

“As much as we would love to say that we’ll be competing for the top trophies tomorrow, we know that that’s not the case," Kroenke said.

Martinelli was there for the final five months of Emery's reign and he has been there for the full six-and-a-half years under Mikel Arteta that have followed.

Gabriel Martinelli joined Arsenal in the summer of 2019

Arsenal FC via Getty Images

He now leaves the club as a Premier League champion and with Kroenke having a very different message to share.

"Our focus is now on building on our success this season and beyond," the co-chair said last week.

"Champions don't stand still; they evolve and keep moving forward."

That evolution necessitates ruthless decisions and selling Martinelli is one of those.

The 25-year-old was not pushing to leave. He has an incredibly strong affinity to the club and is settled off the pitch, having got married last month.

However, Arsenal have been open to selling Martinelli in recent windows and that intensified this summer.

Arteta has wanted to refresh his options in attack, particularly on the left wing. With Arsenal needing to sell after a period of heavy investment, Martinelli was an obvious candidate.

He told Arsenal he had no interest in moving to Turkey after work was done on a potential deal with Galatasaray.

Martinelli, though, was then left out of two matchday squads and honest discussions with Arteta softened his stance on leaving.

His £60m move to Al-Hilal represents by far the biggest sale in Arsenal’s history. It is great business.

Martinelli's career at Arsenal had significantly plateaued, with just one Premier League goal scored last season.

Gabriel Martinelli’s one Premier League goal last season was crucial

Getty

There was also a sense that fan frustration towards him was building. After seven years, supporters knew what they were getting. That relationship was turning stale and there was a desire for something new, almost regardless of what it was.

However, Martinelli should be remembered with huge admiration as one of the club’s best signings of this era.

Extraordinarily, Arsenal have never lost any of the 54 matches in which Martinelli has scored for them.

Moving to London as an 18-year-old was a daunting challenge. Growing up in a one-bedroom house in Brazil, Martinelli always slept in a room with his parents.

His new living arrangements took some adjusting to. He hated sleeping in a house alone, so much so he would spend entire nights speaking to his girlfriend on the phone.

Martinelli made quick progress learning English, but Covid delayed his attempts to get a driving licence. Emi Martinez acted as a chauffeur for training sessions and home matches.

In his first season in English football, Martinelli hit double figures and caught the eye of Jurgen Klopp.

"He’s a talent of the century, he’s an incredible striker," Klopp commented in 2019.

Three years later, the German said: "Little Martinelli, we will talk about this player in the future, I can promise.

"If he is without major injuries, he will have a proper career."

He’s a talent of the century, he’s an incredible striker

Jurgen Klopp on Gabriel Martinelli

In the 2022-23 season, Arsenal's first title race under Arteta was a thrilling ride. Games almost resembled basketball matches at times.

Martinelli thrived on the chaos, finishing as Arsenal's top scorer with 15 goals. He played a leading role in that electric season, one that changed the course of the club's recent history.

It should not be forgotten just how important he was. During that period, Martinelli was alongside Bukayo Saka and William Saliba in terms of the club’s priorities for new contracts.

Publicly, at least, Martinelli did not exactly play hardball. “They just need to give me a pen,” he declared.

The shift to a more controlled style of play, in part a response to how teams set up more cautiously against Arsenal, has not suited Martinelli.

He can represent the most frustrating elements of this Arsenal attack – robotic, over-coached and too safe when faced with a packed defence.

He does, though, leave with a Premier League winners' medal. At Selhurst Park in May, Arsenal lifted the trophy and Martinelli had his friends and family in attendance.

He walked over to them after receiving his medal, took it off, and placed it around his father's neck. Martinelli then broke down in tears as the pair shared a long embrace.

Those are memories that will last a lifetime for Martinelli, as are some of the big moments he has produced.

Premier League champion: Gabriel Martinelli

There was the breakaway goal at Stamford Bridge in 2020, running near enough the length of the pitch before slotting in, and the finish at the Bernabeu five years later to seal a stunning Champions League quarter-final win.

Last season, Martinelli snatched a late equaliser against Manchester City. In a tight title race, that three-point swing was crucial.

Although he only scored once in the league, Martinelli was more prolific in Europe last term. He became the first Arsenal player to score in five consecutive Champions League matches.

The more open matches in the competition suited him. There are gaps to exploit, spaces to run into. In an Arsenal attack not blessed with speed, his pace was a very useful point of difference.

His work-rate and selfless attitude have never been questioned. When all eyes were on Max Dowman as he charged away to score against Everton last season, Martinelli was in his slipstream, covering off the approaching defenders.

"He trains every day like it's his last day on Earth," former assistant manager Steve Round said. "He's a diamond."

The last few weeks have been tough for Martinelli, standing on the sidelines when his team-mates lifted the Community Shield and then watching the win over Coventry from the stands.

In 2022, Arteta said Martinelli is "just a sad boy" when he is left out. That is as true now as it was then.

Farewell: Gabriel Martinelli

He will make big money in Saudi Arabia and still have the option to return to European football in his prime but this is not the dream ending to his Arsenal career.

That is the reality of elite football. The Gunners have improved significantly in recent seasons and he has not done so with them.

That should not cloud Martinelli’s legacy, though. A £6m punt from the lower leagues of Brazilian football proved to be one of Arsenal's very best bits of business over the past decade.