Arsenal’s Martinelli joins Al-Hilal in £60m move

Arsenal forward Gabriel Martinelli has completed a £60m move to Saudi Pro League club Al-Hilal, ending his seven-year spell with the Gunners.

The deal guarantees Arsenal £60m and includes a sell-on clause, with the 25-year-old Brazil international signing a long-term contract with Al-Hilal.

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Martinelli joined Arsenal from Brazilian club Ituano in 2019 and made more than 200 appearances for the north London side. However, he had 12 months remaining on his contract and was told by manager Mikel Arteta that he was not part of his plans for the new season.

“Proud to be blue, proud to be Al-Hilal,” Martinelli said in a video posted on the Saudi club’s social media channels.

He will join an Al-Hilal squad that includes England striker Ollie Watkins, who moved from Aston Villa for £51m this summer.

Dutch winger Crysencio Summerville has also joined the Saudi club from relegated West Ham, while former Inter Milan manager Simone Inzaghi is in charge.

Martinelli is expected to earn significantly more than his reported £180,000-a-week salary at Arsenal.

The winger played 53 matches in all competitions last season, scoring 11 goals as Arsenal won the Premier League title for the first time since 2004.

However, he was omitted from Arsenal’s first two matchday squads of the campaign as Arteta indicated that opportunities would be limited if Martinelli remained at the Emirates Stadium.

Former Arsenal striker Ian Wright had previously criticised the way the club handled Martinelli’s situation after he was left out of the squad for the opening match against Coventry.

“The way Martinelli is being treated at the moment, it really makes me feel uncomfortable,” Wright told Sky Sports.

“I know they might want him out, and a lot of people might say, ‘Yeah, it’s time for him to move him on’. But there’s ways of doing that and it should suit him as well, how he wants to leave.”

Martinelli’s departure brings an end to his Arsenal career, during which he developed from a relatively unknown teenager into an established Brazil international and Premier League winner.