Gabriel Martinelli is now open to leaving Arsenal, and the timing matters because Mikel Arteta has already left him out of the club’s first two matchday squads of the new season. The 25-year-old has still been training with the first team, but the message around his place in the side has shifted fast.
That is why the search traffic around Martinelli has spiked. Supporters want to know whether he is suddenly available, why he has been overlooked so early, and whether the interest from Al Hilal is real enough to turn into a transfer. Arsenal are expected to be willing to do business for around $81.8 million, or about £60 million, which puts this well beyond a routine squad shake-up.
The opening came after Martinelli was left out for the first two games, including Arsenal’s Premier League opener against Coventry City. Until recently, he was not expected to budge. He had rejected interest from Galatasaray and, if he had no future in north London, had wanted a move to one of Europe’s top clubs. The fact that he has now been described as open to the possibility marks a clear change in stance.
There is still a gap between interest and agreement. It has been claimed that dialogue between Arteta and Martinelli has been minimal, even though he continues to train with the first team, and the club has yet to signal that it is ready to let him go on reduced terms. That leaves the reported valuation as the key line: Arsenal appear prepared to talk only if the fee reaches the level they have in mind.
Fabrizio Romano said official club-to-club contact has been made, which moves this beyond loose monitoring and into the kind of exchange that can force a decision. Al Hilal are not being linked to Martinelli in the abstract anymore. They have registered their interest, and if they want to turn that into a deal, they will have to test whether Arsenal really mean the number attached to him. For Martinelli, the next step is no longer about whether he is wanted. It is about whether anyone will pay enough for Arsenal to move.
