Gabriel Martinelli has been the talk of Arsenal on the transfer front amid exit rumours.
Martinelli has been linked to Bayern Munich while the Gunners up their search for a new left-wing option.
The plan has never been to find a replacement for the Brazilian, but competition to get the best out of the 24-year-old.
It’s been a testing previous two seasons for Martinelli, who needs to step up and rediscover the form he showed over the 2022/23 campaign.
Andrea Berta could break his promise to Gabriel Martinelli
German media claim Martinelli isn’t happy at Arsenal, which is a surprising admission given how dedicated the winger is to giving his all to Mikel Arteta’s project.
As the rumours linking Martinelli to Bayern Munich grow, The Athletic commented on speculation in a bid to set the record straight.
The report notes that despite rumours, there have not been ‘any significant developments’ about the Brazil international’s future yet.
As Arsenal Insider reported, Arsenal are committed to Martinelli, wanting to offer the winger a new contract, which correlates with The Athletic’s information regarding Andrea Berta’s conversation with the 2019 signing.
It’s understood that when Arsenal’s sporting director arrived in North London, he informed Martinelli that he is considered to be a ‘valued contributor’ to the first team and is expected to stay at the club.
That being said, The Athletic did note that Berta’s initial conversation with Martinelli doesn’t necessarily mean that his future is set in stone.
The report claims that if an ‘attractive buyer’ approached Arsenal in search of Martinelli’s signature, the Gunners’ position on the matter ‘could shift’.
Talk of the Brazilian’s future comes at an interesting time, given that Arsenal are hot on Rodrygo’s trail, a positional rival to his countryman.
Pros and cons of selling Martinelli
Martinelli has expressed his love for Arsenal very recently, tapping into the dream he’s living by competing at the highs of the latter stages of the Champions League.
That being said, it’s becoming clear that while the winger is valued by his club, his position in Arteta’s squad is not necessarily untouchable.
There are, like any transfer, positives and negatives to the idea of a sale and in this case, the negatives seem to outweigh the pros.
| Season | Appearances | Goals | Assists |
| 2019/20 | 14 | 3 | 0 |
| 2020/21 | 14 | 2 | 1 |
| 2021/22 | 29 | 6 | 6 |
| 2022/23 | 36 | 15 | 6 |
| 2023/24 | 35 | 6 | 4 |
| 2024/25 | 33 | 8 | 4 |
In a positive light, selling the Brazilian now could be wise, as Martinelli’s market value is dropping, and the trajectory isn’t expected to change if competition comes in and his game time decreases.
That does, however, lead to the negative of selling the 24-year-old, whose quality is the ticket to Arteta being able to secure top-class depth in his attack.
Arsenal failed over the 2024/25 campaign due to key absences not being balanced by depth, with an imbalance between first and second choices in the squad clear for all to see.
Because of this, cashing in on Martinelli makes no sense, but if an irrefutable offer comes in, it could just become reality.
Receive a digest of our best Arsenal content each week direct to your mailbox
