Gabriel Martinelli Shines with Hat-Trick for Al-Hilal

Gabriel Martinelli didn’t just arrive in Saudi Arabia on Saturday night. He announced himself.

In the heat of Buraidah, Al-Hilal’s new Brazilian forward tore into Al-Taawoun and ripped up an eight-month narrative of frustration, rattling in his first hat-trick for the club in the seventh round of the Saudi Roshn League.

Drought over, statement made

Eighteen minutes in, the wait ended.

Martinelli reacted first inside the box, darting onto a loose ball after a rebound and guiding it calmly into the net for Al-Hilal’s second of the game. Simple finish, huge release.

It was his first goal in Al-Hilal colours, coming in just his third appearance since swapping Arsenal for Riyadh in the summer window. For a player who thrives on rhythm and aggression, it felt like a dam finally breaking.

The significance ran deeper. That strike was his first club goal in seven months. His last for Arsenal had come back on 15 February, in a 4-0 win over Wigan Athletic in the fourth round of the FA Cup. Since then, only one effort had found the net – a crucial goal for Brazil in a 2-1 victory over Japan in the round of 32 at the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico.

At league level, the numbers were even more stark. Martinelli had not scored in a domestic league match since 21 September 2025, when he struck in Arsenal’s 1-1 draw with Manchester City in the fifth round of the Premier League. Almost a full year without a league goal. That kind of gap gnaws at any forward.

On this night, he ripped that statistic to pieces.

Pace, precision and a ruthless edge

Once he’d opened the door, he barged straight through it.

In the 43rd minute, Martinelli doubled his tally and stretched Al-Hilal’s lead to three. English striker Ollie Watkins slipped a clever through ball into space, and the Brazilian did the rest – bursting clear, eating up the grass, then finishing with the assurance of a man who suddenly remembered exactly who he is.

Al-Taawoun couldn’t live with his movement. They certainly couldn’t live with his timing.

Five minutes after the restart, he finished the job. Dutch winger Crysencio Summerville drove in a low cross from the flank, and Martinelli arrived in stride, sweeping the ball home to complete his hat-trick on 50 minutes. No fuss, no hesitation. Just a clean, clinical touch.

That third goal carried its own layer of history. It was his first hat-trick for Al-Hilal and his first at any club in eight months, his last treble coming in Arsenal’s 4-1 win over Portsmouth on 11 January in the third round of the FA Cup.

From questions about sharpness to a three-goal haul in less than an hour. The transformation felt instant.

From slow start to liftoff

Martinelli’s Al-Hilal career had begun quietly. He came off the bench in the 2-0 win over Al-Shabab in the fifth round of the Roshn League, then started the 2-0 defeat to Neom without finding the net.

Those outings hinted at a player still adjusting – to new teammates, a new league, a new life.

This trip to Buraidah changed the tone. The Brazilian didn’t just get off the mark; he set a new standard for what Al-Hilal can expect from him.

For a club with title ambitions and a forward desperate to reassert himself after a long, goal-starved stretch in Europe, this felt like more than just three goals.

It felt like the start of something that could define Al-Hilal’s season.