Gabriel Martinelli's Arsenal Exit: Arteta's Ruthless Decision

Gabriel Martinelli’s Arsenal story is almost over – and the ending is anything but gentle.

The Brazilian winger, the club’s longest-serving player, is closing in on a permanent move to Al Hilal after Mikel Arteta told him directly to find a new club. For a player who has been part of Arsenal’s rise back to the top and a fixture at the Emirates since 2019, the abruptness of the split is striking.

Arteta’s ruthless call

Arteta has not eased Martinelli towards the exit. He has slammed the door.

Frozen out of recent matchday squads, the 23-year-old has watched from the outside as Arsenal, newly crowned Premier League champions, push on with a refreshed, more ruthless edge. His absence has not been down to form or fitness; it has been a clear, deliberate decision from the manager.

That approach has jarred inside the dressing room. ESPN reports “some discomfort” among the squad at how the situation has been handled, with several team-mates strongly sympathetic to Martinelli. The human cost of a title-winning squad being sharpened has been laid bare.

Flashpoint at Wembley

Tension spiked around the Community Shield.

When Arsenal beat Manchester City, Martinelli was nowhere near the squad. No place on the bench. No minutes. No medal. According to the same report, that omission “greatly disappointed” the forward and left senior players angered by the bluntness of the call.

For many inside the club, that felt like the moment the die was cast. A line had been drawn. Arteta was moving on.

A new left flank

The transfer market only reinforced that message.

Arsenal’s £34 million move for Christos Tzolis earlier in the summer was a clear statement about the future of the left wing. On top of that, the club’s bold – if ultimately unsuccessful – attempt to prise Vinicius Junior from Real Madrid underlined that Arteta was actively plotting a different look down that side.

For Martinelli, the signals were impossible to ignore. The manager was not just tweaking options. He was reshaping the hierarchy.

From cornerstone to expendable

It makes the timing all the more brutal when you look at Martinelli’s body of work.

Since his debut in 2019, he has amassed close to 300 appearances in all competitions for Arsenal. He has grown with the club, from the early, chaotic rebuild years to last season’s surge to a first league title since 2004 and a run to the Champions League final.

Even as his individual influence dipped slightly last season, he still played an important part in that historic campaign. Yet elite football moves quickly. Sentiment rarely survives the pursuit of the next trophy.

His omission from the Premier League opener against Coventry City only hardened the sense of inevitability. This was no rotation call. This was a phase-out.

Saudi green light

Interest has not been in short supply. Galatasaray tested the waters but could not tempt him. The proposal did not ignite him in the way a fresh challenge should.

Saudi Arabia did.

Globo Esporte reports that Martinelli has now given the green light to a lucrative switch to the Saudi Pro League, choosing Al Hilal despite some initial hesitation. The project, the money, the promise of a central role – together, they have turned his head where others failed.

What remains is for the clubs to agree on the numbers.

The final negotiation

Arsenal’s stance is clear: they want a package in the region of £60 million for a player who has given them years of service and is still entering his prime. ESPN suggests the final fee is more likely to land closer to £40 million.

That gap is now the last obstacle between Martinelli and the exit.

Once it closes, one of the most enduring faces of Arsenal’s new era will walk away, leaving behind medals, memories, and a dressing room still processing just how ruthless life at the top has become.