Gabriel Martinelli’s Response to Galatasaray Offer Isn’t Helping Arsenal
Arsenal have reportedly learned from Gabriel Martinelli’s camp that the winger has “no interest” in leaving the club for Galatasaray this summer.
Martinelli has been linked with an exit in recent months given the club’s apparent willingness to cash in as he enters the final year of his contract—an option to extend to 2028 is as yet unused.
It was reported last week that Turkish champions Galatasaray had submitted an opening offer for the Brazilian. The proposal of a $52 million (€45 million, £38.4 million) transfer fee fell short of Arsenal’s valuation for the player, which is thought to sit around $15 million higher.
But there appears to be little point in further negotiations between the clubs because, according to The Athletic, Martinelli does not want to join Galatasaray. He is “not pushing to leave” at all, although there has been a belief that joining a club in one of Europe’s top five leagues—England, Spain, Italy, Germany, France—would be his choice if it came to it.
Türkiye’s Süper Lig falls outside that. Rumored interest from Barcelona never advanced as soon as the Spanish champions recruited Anthony Gordon and Karim Adeyemi instead. Whether another club that meets Martinelli’s minimum standard approaches remains to be seen.
If Arsenal are serious about investing more in the squad before the transfer deadline on Sept. 1, it is likely that more players than existing sales of Karl Hein, Jakub Kiwior, Leandro Trossard and Christian Nørgaard for a combined $53.6 million (£39.6 million)—before add-ons—are required.
Arsenal Can Do Better Than Martinelli
Gabriel Martinelli would be fine as a squad player for Arsenal, but there are genuine questions over whether, as a starter, the 25-year-old is of the level the Gunners require to realize ambitions of a dynasty in England and finally conquering Europe in the Champions League.
Last season, Martinelli scored 11 goals across all competitions, but just one was scored in the Premier League, as he lost his place to Trossard and started only 11 times. His Champions League record was better, yet none of his six goals were scored in the knockout rounds. It’s telling that he didn’t start in the semifinal second leg or the final.
Christos Tzolis has much to prove as someone whose reputation to date has been built on Belgian soccer, which would put him into that backup, relief role. Meanwhile, Arsenal’s interest in other marquee left wingers suggests the intention is to find a better starter than Martinelli.
Had Arsenal been successful with opportunistic interest in Vinícius Júnior, on top of Tzolis already arriving as a $46 million (£34 million) replacement for Trossard, it would almost certainly have shoved Martinelli towards the door.
Before that, Morgan Rogers was the target of choice until the Gunners lost out to Chelsea in what turned out to be a record Premier League transfer for an English player.
Financially, Arsenal would also be able to make selling Martinelli work to their advantage, using permitted accounting practices to record a full transfer fee on this season’s balance sheet but spreading the cost of a tier-one replacement over several years. This kind of player trading is increasingly common in elite-level soccer because it helps navigate spending rules.
Given Martinelli’s nominal purchase price in 2019, almost all of the sale fee would be profit.
