Arsenal close to Gabriel Martinelli sale in club-record deal after Mikel Arteta talks
Arsenal are closing in on the club-record sale of Gabriel Martinelli to Al-Hilal .
There has been a growing sense that Martinelli's time at Arsenal is coming to an end after seven years in north London.
The 25-year-old was left out of Mikel Arteta’s matchday squad for the Community Shield win over Manchester City and last week’s Premier League opener against Coventry .
While Martinelli had initially been keen to stay at Arsenal, and turned down a move to Turkey amid interest from Galatasaray, honest discussions with manager Arteta over his position in the squad have left the Brazilian more open to leaving.
Al-Hilal emerged as a serious option and progress has been made in discussions between the two clubs.
A final agreement has not yet been reached, with Arsenal valuing Martinelli at around £60million. Al-Hilal are hoping to strike a deal closer to £50m.
However, talks are advancing positively and Martinelli has been offered a contract that would involve a huge increase on his current £180,000-a-week salary.
On the move: Gabriel Martinelli looks set to leave Arsenal for Saudi Arabian club Al-Hilal Getty If the deal goes through, as appears increasingly likely, it will represent Arsenal's record sale.
As it stands, the £35m received for selling Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain to Liverpool in 2017 is the highest fee Arsenal have brought in for a departing player.
Martinelli has been at Arsenal for the entirety of Arteta's reign, signing from Brazilian side Ituano in the summer of 2019 for a fee of around £6m.
He has gone on to score 62 goals for the club and, after several near-misses in recent years, played his part in the title-winning campaign last season.
Martinelli's exit continues Arsenal's refreshing of their left wing. Leandro Trossard departed earlier this summer for Besiktas, with Christos Tzolis signed as a replacement from Club Brugge.
It is not certain that Martinelli will also be directly replaced in the final week of the transfer window.
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