Gabriel Martinelli transfer news: Forward joins Al Hilal in club-record sale for Arsenal in £60m deal
Gabriel Martinelli leaves Arsenal in a club-record sale as he joins Al Hilal in a £60m deal; Martinelli made 191 Premier League appearances for the Gunners, but made just 11 starts during their title-winning campaign last season
Thursday 3 September 2026 18:54, UK
Gabriel Martinelli has joined Al Hilal in a club-record £60m sale for Arsenal.
The deal, which is a fixed fee and includes a sell-on clause, surpasses the £40m Arsenal sold Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain for to Liverpool in the summer of 2017.
Martinelli joined Arsenal as an 18-year-old from Brazilian club Ituano, which means his sale goes down as pure profit on the accounting books.
- Transfer Centre LIVE! | Latest on YOUR PL club!
- Premier League fixtures & scores | FREE PL highlights▶️
- Got Sky? Watch Premier League games LIVE on your phone📱
- Not got Sky? Latest Sky Sports deals or stream PL games with no contract📺
Martinelli's move to Saudi Arabia comes after he had turned down the chance to join Galatasaray earlier this summer.
The Turkish side had made an offer of around £38.9 for Martinelli, but he was not keen on a move to Turkey at this stage.
The 25-year-old's Al Hilal exit takes Arsenal's money received from player sales this summer to over £120m.
Martinelli's move to the Saudi Pro League comes after fellow left-sided forward Leandro Trossard was sold to Besiktas in July.
Arsenal strengthened their left-hand side with the signing of Christos Tzolis from Club Brugge, who started in the opening two Premier League victories, with Martinelli absent for both games.
After the opening-day win over Coventry, former Arsenal striker Ian Wright told Sky Sports the treatment of Martinelli left him feeling "uncomfortable" and claimed the 25-year-old deserved "more respect".
Martinelli joined the Gunners in 2019 and made 191 Premier League appearances for the club, scoring 41 goals and providing 24 assists.
He made 30 league appearances last season as Arsenal ended their 22-year wait for a Premier League title, but only 11 of those were starts, his lowest since the 2020/21 season.
Saka last player left from Arteta's first squad
Following Gabriel Martinelli's departure, Bukayo Saka is the last player remaining from the squad Mikel Arteta inherited.
The Spaniard joined Arsenal on December 20, 2019 as Unai Emery's permanent successor after Freddie Ljungberg's brief period in interim charge.
Arteta has since drastically changed the squad, which included the likes of David Luiz and Alexandre Lacazette, to take the Gunners from 15th to Premier League champions.
Although William Saliba was an Arsenal player when Arteta joined, he was on loan at Saint-Etienne for the 2019/20 season and didn't make his Premier League debut for the Gunners until the first game of the 2022/23 season in a 2-0 win against Crystal Palace.
Martinelli suffered an injury-ridden start under Arteta, but excelled in the 2022/23 season, scoring 15 goals as Arsenal pushed for their first Premier League title in 19 years, however recent form saw him move to third in the left-wing pecking order behind new signing Christos Tzolis and Eberechi Eze.
Arsenal departures this summer
Out
Gabriel Martinelli - Al Hilal, £60m
Fabio Vieira - Porto, £7.7m
Jakub Kiwior - Porto, £19m
Leandro Trossard - Besiktas, £17m
Gabriel Jesus - Barcelona, £8.6m
Christian Norgaard - Everton, £7m
Ethan Nwaneri - Borussia Dortmund, loan
Karl Hein - Werder Bremen, £2.6m
