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End of an Era: Gabriel Martinelli Completes Record Move to Al Hilal

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End of an Era: Gabriel Martinelli Completes Record Move to Al Hilal

Gabriel Martinelli is no longer an Arsenal player. After weeks of speculation, the Brazilian winger's move to Saudi Pro League giants Al Hilal is "done and confirmed," closing the book on a seven-year Emirates Stadium career that began when he arrived as a raw, largely unknown 18-year-old from Ituano back in 2019.
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The Numbers

Reports on the exact fee have varied slightly by source, with figures ranging from around €65 million up to €70 million (roughly £60m, or as much as $81.2m by some counts). Whichever figure proves accurate, it comfortably makes Martinelli the most expensive departure in Arsenal’s history, surpassing Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain’s £35m move to Liverpool back in 2017. The agreement is also understood to include a sell-on clause, giving Arsenal a future cut if Al Hilal ever move him on again. Regulatory approval was still pending as the deal was finalised, standard procedure for a transfer of this size.

How We Got Here

The writing had been on the wall for a while. Despite a full pre-season, Martinelli didn’t make the matchday squad for either the Community Shield or Arsenal’s opening two Premier League fixtures — a clear signal from Mikel Arteta that the Brazilian no longer figured in his first-team plans. Speaking to reporters before the move was finalised, Arteta struck a warm but resigned tone, acknowledging the affection the club holds for “Gabi” while making clear any outcome would be one all parties had agreed to.

The arrival of Christos Tzolis from Club Brugge, plus the sale of fellow left-sided forward Leandro Trossard to Besiktas earlier in the summer, reshaped the left-wing picture at Arsenal and left Martinelli increasingly squeezed for opportunities. Reports also indicate Arsenal explored — and missed out on — several elite wingers over the summer, including Morgan Rogers, Vinicius Junior and Bradley Barcola, before a move for Malick Fofana also failed to materialise. That left Tzolis as the club’s only recognised out-and-out left winger once Martinelli’s exit became clear.

The Legacy

However it ends, the numbers speak for themselves: 278 appearances, 62 goals, and a role in some of the club’s biggest recent moments — the 2020 FA Cup triumph, the 2023 Community Shield, and last season’s Premier League title win. He also earned 27 caps for Brazil, featuring at two World Cups, an Olympics and a Copa America during his time in north London.

Martinelli marked the moment with a heartfelt message to supporters, reflecting on arriving with what he described as anxiety, fear and doubt as a teenager, and leaving having become an FA Cup winner, a Community Shield winner and, finally, a Premier League champion.

What It Means for Arsenal

Not everyone is convinced the business adds up. With Martinelli and Trossard — who combined for 19 goals last season — both gone, and no like-for-like elite replacement brought in beyond Tzolis, some observers have questioned whether Arsenal have left themselves light out wide for a season in which they’re expected to defend the Premier League title and go deep in the Champions League, FA Cup and Carabao Cup. The expectation at the club is that Eberechi Eze will pick up more minutes on the left, with both Noni Madueke and Bukayo Saka also seen as capable of covering that flank when needed.

Whether that’s enough attacking cover to survive a gruelling season across four competitions is a question Arteta may not get a definitive answer to until squad depth is properly tested in the winter months.

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Big Test Incoming: Arsenal Host Unbeaten Chelsea in First Real Examination of the Season

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The Contrast in Styles

Both clubs sit on maximum points, but they’ve got there in very different fashion. Arsenal have been the picture of control: a 3-0 win over Coventry, then a narrow but professional 1-0 away victory at Aston Villa courtesy of Bukayo Saka. Not a single shot has beaten David Raya so far this season.

Chelsea, by contrast, have been box office. A 3-2 opening win at Fulham was followed by a wild 4-3 victory over Brighton, with Cole Palmer and Joao Pedro among the goals. It’s been thrilling to watch, but it’s come with a defensive health warning — Chelsea have now gone 18 consecutive league matches without a clean sheet, their longest such run since 1960-61.

That contrast sets up an obvious narrative for Sunday: can Arsenal’s defensive solidity smother Chelsea’s attacking flair, or will Alonso’s side finally find the goals to match their damage at the other end?

Team News

Arsenal go into the derby without two regular defensive starters. William Saliba and Jurrien Timber both remain sidelined through injury, which already forces some reshuffling at the back. There’s also a fresh fitness concern to monitor: Cristhian Mosquera was withdrawn late in the win at Villa Park holding the back of his thigh. Arteta described it as precautionary rather than a serious issue in his post-match press conference, but it may be enough to hand Ezri Konsa his first Arsenal start — fittingly, against the club he left this summer.

Declan Rice also came off during that Villa win, replaced by Martin Zubimendi, though he’s back in training and expected to be available. Kai Havertz continues to lead the line and has a strong record against his former club, having scored in three of his last three home appearances against Chelsea.

For the visitors, Xabi Alonso is without Moises Caicedo and Jordan Henderson, both out through injury, along with Marco Palestra.

The History Books Favour Arsenal

The recent head-to-head record is heavily tilted in Arsenal’s favour. The Gunners are unbeaten in their last ten meetings with Chelsea across all competitions — seven wins, three draws — and have won four straight home league games against them, their best such home run since the early 1990s. Chelsea’s last win in this fixture came back in August 2021.

Bookmakers reflect that history: Arsenal go into the weekend as clear favourites, priced around 13/18 to make it nine points from nine, with Chelsea out at 17/4 and the draw around 3/1.

Prediction

Given Arsenal’s watertight defence, home advantage, and a striker in Havertz who has Chelsea’s number, a narrow home win looks the most likely outcome — but with Chelsea’s front three of Palmer, Joao Pedro and Morgan Rogers capable of scoring against anybody, goals at the other end shouldn’t be ruled out. Kick-off is 4:30pm BST at the Emirates Stadium, with live coverage on Sky Sports in the UK.

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Full Circle: Reiss Nelson Completes Free Transfer to Feyenoord

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How the Move Came Together

Arsenal confirmed last week that they had agreed to terminate Nelson’s contract by mutual consent, making the 26-year-old a free agent with immediate effect. That freedom from the standard transfer deadline gave him room to properly weigh his options — and reports suggest there was briefly interest from West Ham United, at a fee of around £3m, though that move stalled as the Hammers explored other targets.

In the end, Nelson opted for a reunion. According to transfer insider Fabrizio Romano, personal terms were agreed and the winger passed his medical with Feyenoord this week, completing the move as a free agent.

Why Feyenoord Makes Sense

The choice isn’t a surprise to anyone who followed Nelson’s career closely. He first arrived at De Kuip on loan back in the 2021-22 season, under then-manager Arne Slot, and quickly became a fan favourite — contributing to Feyenoord’s run to the inaugural UEFA Europa Conference League final. That loan spell produced four goals and seven assists in 32 appearances, by some distance the most productive extended run of Nelson’s career.

Feyenoord’s current management view this second spell as low-risk business: a proven quantity, already familiar with the club and its supporters, arriving for nothing.

The Numbers on His Arsenal Career

Nelson joined Arsenal’s academy at just eight years old and progressed through Hale End to make his first-team debut in the 2017 FA Community Shield. Across 18 years at the club, he made 90 senior appearances, scoring eight goals and providing nine assists — modest output reflecting a career defined more by loan spells than sustained first-team opportunity, with stints at Hoffenheim, Feyenoord, Fulham and, most recently, Brentford.

His departure carries symbolic weight for Arsenal too. With Nelson gone, the current first-team squad no longer contains a single player who featured under Arsene Wenger, closing a chapter that stretches back to before the debut of former club captain Tony Adams.

What’s Next

For Nelson, the move represents a genuine chance at a fresh start somewhere he’s previously thrived — a platform to play regularly and establish himself as a primary attacking option, something that largely eluded him during his time in north London. For Arsenal, it’s a tidy piece of housekeeping that clears a squad spot and a contract off the books as Arteta continues to reshape his attacking options around Havertz, Saka, Eze and the club’s growing group of young forwards.

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Arsenal’s Next Big Bet: Inside the Andria Bartishvili Deal

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While the football world was fixated on deadline day fireworks, Arsenal quietly completed one of their shrewdest pieces of business of the summer — agreeing a deal to sign 17-year-old Georgian sensation Andria Bartishvili, in a move that says plenty about where the club’s recruitment strategy is heading.

The Deal

Arsenal have reached agreement with FC Kolkheti-1913 Poti to sign Bartishvili for a fee in the region of €4.5 million (roughly £3.9m/$5.3m). The teenager will travel to London for a medical before signing a five-year contract, though due to work permit rules for players under 18 moving to English football, the move won’t officially become permanent until March 2027, when he turns 18.

Until then, Bartishvili is expected to continue his development in Georgia, most likely through his current loan spell at Iberia 1999, before eventually integrating into Arsenal’s academy or first-team plans.

Who Is Andria Bartishvili?

Born in Tbilisi in March 2009, Bartishvili came through the Dinamo Tbilisi academy before moving to Kolkheti-1913 Poti ahead of the 2025 season. He wasted no time making history, becoming the youngest player ever to feature in Georgia’s top flight, the Erovnuli Liga, at just 16 years and two days old. By the end of that year, he’d been named the league’s Under-17 Player of the Year.

A loan move to fellow Georgian side Iberia 1999 followed for the 2026 campaign, where he’s continued to catch the eye as a versatile attacking talent capable of playing anywhere across the front line — as a number 10, out wide, or through the middle.

The comparisons already being thrown around are striking. Bartishvili has repeatedly been likened to fellow Georgian Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, the Napoli and Georgia winger who rose from relative obscurity to become one of Europe’s most exciting attackers. One scout who was among the first to recommend Kvaratskhelia to Napoli has been quoted describing Bartishvili’s potential in similarly glowing terms.

Part of a Bigger Pattern

This isn’t an isolated piece of business. Bartishvili becomes the fourth young prospect Arsenal have signed for a future arrival in recent windows, joining Ecuadorian twins Holger and Edwin Quintero, who are due to arrive from Independiente next summer. The strategy reflects a deliberate shift in recruitment philosophy under the club’s hierarchy — identifying elite young talent and moving early, before transfer fees inflate and rival clubs start circling.

It’s the kind of deal that won’t generate headlines the way a marquee first-team signing does, but it fits a clear pattern: Arsenal targeting potential, timing, and value, thinking well beyond the next transfer window. At under £4m for a player already drawing Kvaratskhelia comparisons, it’s the sort of move that could look like exceptional business a few years down the line — even if the pay-off, by design, is a long way off yet