Gabriel Martinelli has left Arsenal to join Al Hilal in a club-record £60m transfer, bringing the Brazil forward’s seven-year stay in north London to an end.
The fixed-fee deal includes a sell-on clause and eclipses the £40m Arsenal received from Liverpool for Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain in 2017, making Martinelli the most expensive player the club have sold.
Martinelli completed his medical after travelling to Saudi Arabia, with the move able to be concluded after the Premier League transfer window closed because the Saudi Pro League window remains open until Sunday, September 6. ([livescore.com](https://www.livescore.com/en/news/football/premier-league/deal-still-on-medical-tomorrow-but-arsenal-wont-finalise-60m-transfer-by-tonights-11pm-deadline-caughtoffside/?utm_source=openai))
The 25-year-old joined Arsenal from Brazilian side Ituano as an 18-year-old in 2019. His departure represents pure profit on the club’s accounts, while taking Arsenal’s income from player sales this summer beyond £120m.
Martinelli made 191 Premier League appearances for Arsenal, scoring 41 goals and registering 24 assists. He featured 30 times during last season’s title-winning campaign, but started only 11 league matches — his lowest number of starts since 2020-21.
His final weeks at the Emirates had pointed towards an exit. Martinelli had already turned down an approach from Galatasaray, who offered about £38.9m, as he was not prepared to move to Turkey at this stage.
Arsenal have moved to reinforce the left side of their attack with the signing of Christos Tzolis from Club Brugge. The new arrival started in the opening-day victory over Coventry, while Martinelli was left out of the matchday squad.
The transfer brings to a close Martinelli’s Arsenal career, which began with a striking first season and included a key role in the club’s return to the top of the Premier League.
