Arsenal trying to get rid of Martinelli, with club talks ongoing after winger said no to last offer
Arsenal remain open to offers for Gabriel Martinelli, and have been sounded out by Napoli for the Brazilian after he rejected a previous offer, according to a report.
Martinelli didn’t have a great last campaign, with just five direct goal contributions in 30 Premier League games. The Gunners have signed Christos Tzolis this summer, and he was electric in the Community Shield, assisting twice on Arsenal debut.
Martinelli wasn’t in the squad, reinforcing recent reports about the club being happy for him to leave.
Caught Offside reports Arsenal are ‘open to offers’ for Martinelli if they can further strengthen their attack.
And amid that stance, Napoli are said to have sounded out the Gunners for the winger, with dialogue ‘underway.’
Reports in Italy, meanwhile, reports fellow Serie A club Roma are interested in Martinelli.
The prospect of a club like Napoli – who have won and finished second in Serie A in the last two seasons – coming in for the Arsenal winger is an interesting one.
Indeed, he rejected Galatasaray of late, the suggestion being that he didn’t want to take a big step down before he’s reached his prime – he’s only 25.
Why Martinelli rejected Galatasaray
The Turkish club had offered Arsenal €45million (£38.4m) for Martinelli, but he had no interest in making that move.
That was confirmed by a few insiders, with David Ornstein first stating: ‘Gabriel Martinelli camp inform Arsenal winger has no interest in joining Galatasaray.
‘#AFC received €45m bid from Turkish club & open to trading if suitable offers arrive but #Galatasaray not on agenda for 25yo Brazil international.’
Fabrizio Romano then backed that up, stating: ‘Gabriel Martinelli never considered a move to Turkey at this stage of his career as realistic option.
‘Nothing expected to happen in the upcoming weeks with Turkish clubs, including Galatasaray as @David_Ornstein reports.’
But Napoli very much aren’t Galatasaray. They have been consistently battling for the Serie A title in recent years, and will again play in the Champions League this season.
At the Emirates this season, with Tzolis looking very promising on debut, Martinelli might well struggle for minutes.
At Napoli, the Brazilian would likely back himself to surpass Noa Lang and Alisson Santos to become the starting left-winger, helping the club battle both for the Serie A title and in Europe.
While there’s no definitive suggestion that he’d be open to that move, the benefits are more than those available at Galatasaray.
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