football.london reports that Martinelli is close to leaving Arsenal FC for Al-Hilal in a £60 million deal.

The transfer would make Martinelli Arsenal FC's most expensive sale in history, surpassing the previous record held by Alexis Sánchez, who left in a £35 million deal on August 31, 2017.

football.london understands that one of Arsenal FC's objectives in the summer transfer market was to stop a long-running trend of selling players for less than rivals. Over recent years, Manchester City has sold 11 players for fees exceeding Arsenal's record, with five of those sales occurring in the summer transfer window alone.

Liverpool signed Alexis Sánchez that same year and sold Philippe Coutinho to Barcelona for well over £100 million in the same summer window. Since then, Liverpool has also sold Fabinho, Luis Díaz, and Darwin Núñez for substantial fees.

After several costly summer transfer windows, Arsenal FC has faced pressure to sell players. However, their player sales revenue has not offset their spending in the way Manchester City and Chelsea have managed over recent years. Miguel Arteta's arrival in 2019 initiated a complete squad rebuild, with the club competing for titles six and a half years later. During this period, the global pandemic impacted the club's investment capacity at a time when Arsenal FC was looking to sell players.

Arsenal FC cancelled certain contracts, and the club borrowed from the Bank of England's Covid Corporate Financing Facility to manage revenue losses. With available commercial revenue, Arsenal FC's financial position has improved significantly since the pandemic. Combined with strong finances accumulated over many years under Wenger, this has enabled them to continue developing the squad.

Martinelli joined Arsenal FC in 2019, before Arteta arrived, for approximately £6 million. He made his Europa League debut under Unai Emery, scoring two goals in Arsenal's first two European matches against Standard Liège and Vitória Guimarães at just 18 years old.

However, shortly after Arteta took over, Martinelli suffered a serious knee injury. This occurred after he had scored his second and third Premier League goals, including an impressive strike against Chelsea in matches against Sheffield United and Chelsea.

The injury caused Martinelli to miss Arsenal FC's FA Cup campaign. He did help the team progress, providing an assist for Saka's opening goal in a 2-1 away win over Bournemouth. Although many players were sold or left when Arteta arrived, Martinelli remained and signed a new contract.

However, over the next three seasons, Martinelli failed to reach his previous peak. football.london understands that at the end of the 2025-26 Championship season, the player began considering his next step, as he was aware the club planned to strengthen the left-wing position.

Aishe started ahead of Martinelli and Leandro Trossard in the away match against Manchester City. This was viewed as a signal of Miguel Arteta's intentions for the new season.

In fact, football.london sources indicate that after the World Cup, Aishe was considered higher in the club's priorities than Martinelli. The club decided that if a suitable offer could be agreed upon, it would be the right time for Martinelli to move on.

Galatasaray emerged as a potential interested party, but their offer of approximately £38 million fell well short of Arsenal FC's valuation. This fee would have made Martinelli the second-most expensive player in Turkish Super Lig history, behind only Victor Osimhen.

It is understood that Arsenal FC valued Martinelli internally by referencing transfer fees for players such as Savinho to Tottenham, Morgan Rogers to Chelsea, and Antony Gordon. However, Martinelli had a disappointing season last year, scoring just one Premier League goal at age 25, which led to a lack of serious interest from the major European leagues, particularly English clubs.

Ian Wright's comments about Arsenal FC's treatment of Martinelli on Sky Sports surprised many at the club. football.london understands that Miguel Arteta communicated with the player about his exclusion from the squad for the Community Shield against Manchester City and the opening league match against Coventry.

After the win over Coventry, Wright said: "The way Martinelli is being treated right now makes me really uncomfortable."

Wright added: "I know they may want him to leave, and many might say 'yes, it's time for him to go,' but there's a way to do it, and it should be in his best interest and in a way he wants to leave."

Wright continued: "He's not in the squad. No one has explained anything to him. He doesn't know what's happening. Yes, I know he doesn't know what's happening."

Wright also stated: "He's done enough for this club. He deserves more respect."

There is a view that while Arteta explained the reasons for excluding Martinelli, the club's intention to sell him and the possibility of a transfer or club interest was not clearly communicated to the player at that time. However, sports directors typically do not share behind-the-scenes progress with players until it becomes necessary to do so.

Additionally, although the club signed Sorloth, they remained in search of a top attacking left-winger. Arsenal FC's interest in Morgan Rogers faded after multiple Chelsea bids, Vinícius Júnior renewed his contract with Real Madrid, and Julián Álvarez remained firm that he would only leave Atlético Madrid for Barcelona until the market closed.

Arsenal FC initially planned to replace either Martinelli or Leandro Trossard. One would be replaced by a less prominent option, with Sorloth viewed as a good market opportunity to develop a relatively unknown player, while the other was hoped to be filled by a top-tier signing to elevate the attack further.

Unfortunately, the market did not develop as Arsenal FC hoped. As the transfer deadline approached, Al-Hilal became the only genuinely interested party willing to pay Arsenal FC's valuation for Martinelli, leading to the club's decision.

football.london understands that all levels of Arsenal FC agreed: Martinelli would be sold, even if they could not sign another striker in this transfer window. Even as the deadline neared and rumors of Malik Fofana's transfer emerged and faded, Arsenal FC never considered stopping the deal.

Sorloth, Aishe, and Noni Madueke were considered sufficient to support the team through at least January, despite Arsenal FC's ambitions to sign a marquee player. Their failure to do so did not stop them from agreeing to a record £60 million deal with the Saudi club.

In the final week before the transfer window closed, negotiations fell quiet, with both clubs still in discussions. football.london understands that Irapuato, Martinelli's former club, had a 15% sell-on clause from his 2019 transfer to Arsenal FC.

Initially, the parties discussed a fixed fee of £50 million plus approximately £6 million in add-ons, hoping to include additional sell-on conditions. However, it is understood that both clubs ultimately agreed on a fixed fee of £60 million, and it remains unclear whether any sell-on conditions were included.

Martinelli arrived in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday local time and completed his medical within 24 hours. Arsenal FC is preparing to announce his departure while the Saudi transfer window remains open until October 12.

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