Arsenal let several squad players leave on deadline day, although one of the more established members of Mikel Arteta’s ensemble could actually have stolen the transfer headlines with a late exit.
Jakub Kiwior joined Porto on an initial loan deal, with the Portuguese side agreeing a buy option worth upward of €27 million (£23 million) for the Pole.
Meanwhile, Oleksandr Zinchenko secured a last-minute loan move to Nottingham Forest, Fabio Vieira and Sambi Lokonga both joined Hamburg, and Reiss Nelson went to Brentford.
Despite all these outgoings, the Gunners ended the window having generated almost no revenue from sales.
Aston Villa were interested in signing Gabriel Martinelli this summer
Arsenal spent over £250 million on eight players this summer.
Many might have thought this excessive spending could only be facilitated by a significant departure, but this never materialised despite speculation linking certain players with a move away.
According to the Athletic, clubs in Saudi Arabia, as well as Aston Villa, showed an interest in Gabriel Martinelli before the window closed.
However, this interest was only ‘tentative’, and talks progressed on neither front.
Villa allowed Leon Bailey to leave the West Midlands for Roma over the summer, leaving themselves with few out-and-out wingers.
Thus, it makes sense that Unai Emery would have looked to prise the Brazilian to Villa Park, although they ultimately opted to make a late move for Jadon Sancho on loan.
Martinelli has been struggling for form so far this season, and many would argue that Arsenal should have cashed in before the window shut if they were to have received a suitable offer.
That said, the Athletic suggest that no such offer ever surfaced, and that the North London club still view the player as an important part of Arteta’s squad.
Unai Emery gave Gabriel Martinelli his Arsenal debut
Emery was in charge at Arsenal when the Gunners bought Martinelli.
Edu Gaspar signed the winger for just £5 million from Ituano in the summer of 2019, and the Spanish manager immediately took a liking to the youngster.
Just 18, Martinelli, who has now been described as ‘world-class’, had been expected to mostly play for the Arsenal under-21s in his first season in N5.
However, Emery admired the starlet’s youthful energy and relentless running in pre-season, and decided to blood him in the first team from the outset.
The divisive head coach handed Martinelli his Arsenal debut in August 2019, replacing Henrikh Mkhitaryan in the 84th minute of a clash away at Newcastle.
He’s since gone on to make 227 appearances for the Gunners, scoring 51 goals.
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