London Football: Arsenal Agree Internally to Sell Martinelli Even Without Signing a Forward

London Football reports that Martinelli is close to joining Al Hilal from Arsenal for £60 million.

The transfer would make Martinelli the most expensive sale in Arsenal's history, surpassing the record set when Chamberlain moved for £35 million on August 31, 2017, nine years ago.

football.london understands that one of Arsenal's targets at the start of this summer window was to end this long-standing club sales record. In the years since, Manchester City have sold 11 players for more than Arsenal's record, including five this summer alone.

Liverpool signed Chamberlain at the time and, in the same summer window, sold Philippe Coutinho to Barcelona for well over £100 million. Liverpool later also sold Fabinho, Luis Diaz and Nunez for higher fees.

After several high-spending summer windows, Arsenal have faced pressure to sell players. Compared with Manchester City and Chelsea in recent years, their outgoing revenue has not offset spending to the same extent. Mikel Arteta's arrival in 2019 began a full squad rebuild, and the team won a title six and a half years later, but the global pandemic affected the club's ability to invest while Arsenal were seeking to sell players.

Arsenal cancelled some contracts and also used the Bank of England's Covid Corporate Financing Facility loan scheme to deal with lost revenue, while relying on existing commercial income. In the years after the pandemic, Arsenal's commercial revenue improved significantly, and their relatively healthy finances built during the Wenger era helped them continue upgrading the squad.

Martinelli joined Arsenal in 2019, before Arteta took charge, for around £6 million. He emerged during Unai Emery's Europa League campaign, scoring twice against Standard Liege and once against Vitoria Guimaraes in his first two European matches at just 18 years old.

However, shortly after Arteta arrived, Martinelli suffered a serious knee injury. Before that, he had scored his second and third Premier League goals against Sheffield United and Chelsea, with the goal against Chelsea particularly impressive.

The injury caused Martinelli to miss Arsenal's FA Cup final during their title-winning run. In that cup campaign, he helped the team progress, assisting Saka's opener in a 2-1 away win over Bournemouth. When Arteta took over, many squad members were sold or left when their contracts expired, but Martinelli stayed and signed a new deal.

However, Martinelli failed to reach his previous level over the following three seasons. football.london understands that by the end of the 2025-26 title-winning season, the player had started considering his next step because he knew the club was expected to strengthen on the left side.

Eze started ahead of Martinelli and Trossard in an away match against Manchester City. It was seen as an indication of Mikel Arteta's plans for the new season.

In fact, football.london learned from sources that after the World Cup, Eze was considered higher than Martinelli in the squad pecking order. The club also decided that if a deal suitable for all parties could be found, it would be the right time for Martinelli to leave.

Galatasaray emerged as a potential destination, but their offer of around £38 million was far below Arsenal's valuation. At the time, that fee would have made Martinelli the second-most expensive player in Turkish Super Lig history, behind only Osimhen.

It is understood that Arsenal internally referenced transfer fees for players such as Savinho to Tottenham, Morgan Rogers to Chelsea and Anthony Gordon when assessing Martinelli's value. However, Martinelli's disappointing last season, in which the 25-year-old scored only one Premier League goal, meant the Gunners did not receive strong interest from the top five leagues, especially English clubs.

Ian Wright questioned Arsenal's treatment of Martinelli on Sky Sports, which surprised many inside the club. football.london understands that Martinelli was left out of the squads for the Community Shield against Manchester City and the league opener against Coventry, and Arteta had spoken with the player about it.

After the win over Coventry, Wright said: "The way Martinelli is being treated right now really makes me uncomfortable."

Wright said: "I know they may want him to leave, and many people may say, 'Yes, it is time for him to go.' But there are ways to do this, and it should fit his interests and the way he wants to leave."

Wright continued: "He was not in the squad, nobody explained things clearly to him, and he did not know what was happening. Yes, I know that, he did not know what was going on."

Wright also said: "He has done enough for this team, and he deserves a little more respect than he is getting now."

One view is that although Arteta explained why Martinelli was not included in the squad, the club's intention to sell him and the stage of any potential departure or outside interest had not been clearly communicated to the player at that time. That said, sporting directors usually do not keep players informed of behind-the-scenes developments unless there is a need to do so.

In addition, although the club have signed Tzolis, they are still looking for a major left-sided attacking signing. Arsenal's interest in Morgan Rogers ended after Chelsea made a major move, Vinicius renewed with Real Madrid, and Julian Alvarez maintained his position until the transfer window closed that he would only leave Atletico Madrid for Barcelona.

Arsenal originally planned to replace both Martinelli and Trossard. One would be replaced by a less prominent option, with Tzolis viewed as a good market opportunity and a player who could be developed; the other was intended to be replaced by a marquee signing to take the attack to another level.

Unfortunately, the market did not develop in the way Arsenal hoped. As the window entered its final stages, Al Hilal became the genuine candidate willing to sign Martinelli and meet Arsenal's asking price, and Arsenal made their decision.

football.london understands that all levels of Arsenal agreed that Martinelli would be sold even if they were unable to sign another forward in the window. Even with the deadline approaching and the Malik Fofana transfer saga appearing and ending, Arsenal never considered stopping the deal.

Tzolis, Eze and Madueke were considered sufficient to support the team until January. Although Arsenal had a grand plan to sign a market-shaking player, failing to do so did not prevent them from agreeing a record-breaking £60 million deal with the Saudi club.

In the final weekend before the transfer window closed, negotiation updates became quieter, with the two clubs still discussing the deal. football.london understands that Martinelli's former club Ituano had a 15% sell-on profit share clause from his 2019 move to Arsenal.

Initially, discussions involved a £50 million fixed fee plus around £6 million in bonuses, with hopes of adding another sell-on clause. However, the two clubs ultimately agreed on a £60 million fixed fee, and it is currently unknown whether a sell-on clause was included.

Martinelli arrived in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday local time and completed his medical within the following 24 hours. Arsenal are set to announce his departure, while the Saudi transfer window will remain open until October 12.