According to reports, Arsenal are ‘willing to consider offers’ for Gabriel Martinelli and AC Milan view the Brazilian as an ideal replacement for Rafael Leao.
Martinelli has frustrated Arsenal fans over the last two seasons after a breakout 2022/23 campaign.
He equalled the record for most Premier League goals in a season by a Brazilian with 15, but has been unable to kick on as the Gunners chase their first league title since 2004.
The 24-year-old cost around £5million from Brazilian minnows Ituano after the player had a trial at rivals Manchester United.
He is arguably Edu Gaspar’s most successful signing during his time at the Emirates and held a strong bond with Martinelli as his compatriot.
Edu helped Martinelli settle in north London as a teenager, leaving his home country in 2019 to play in the Premier League.
Injuries held the winger back from making an impact on the first team until 2022/23, when he was excellent as Arsenal finished second in the league behind Manchester City.
His output was less convincing in 2023/24, scoring six in 35, and then registering eight goals and four assists in 33 top-flight matches last term.
There were rumours of a move away for Martinelli in the summer, though nothing came close to materialising. Bayern Munich were one of the clubs linked, but they opted for Liverpool’s Luis Diaz instead.
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The left side of Mikel Arteta’s attack was identified as a position to improve in the summer transfer window, and the Spanish manager landed Ebere Eze from Crystal Palace last month.
Eze and Noni Madueke’s arrivals are expected to move Martinelli to the bench, which will only intensify transfer speculation.
A fresh report from CaughtOffside says Arsenal have a ‘quiet willingness to consider offers’, with the winger ‘facing an uncertain future’.
Indeed, the player ‘once hailed as a cornerstone of Arteta’s project’ could leave the club due to a lack of consistency, with ‘his stock fluctuating dramatically’ since his stellar 22/23 campaign.
With Edu gone, new sporting director Andrea Berta has ‘reassessed his place in the squad, weighing both sporting and financial considerations’.
It’s believed that Berta ‘placed a £60million valuation on Martinelli during the summer window’, though potential suitors ‘rated him closer to £40million’.
We could see the ‘Martinelli file’ reopen in January as AC Milan are ‘particularly interested’ amid uncertainty surrounding Rafael Leao’s future.
Arsenal don’t want a ‘drawn-out standoff over price’ and could use the funds from Martinelli’s sale to sign Real Madrid forward Rodrygo.
The ‘blockbuster move’ for the Brazilian would require a ‘reshuffle of their wage structure’, and Martinelli ‘could be the key piece sacrificed to unlock the funds’.
There’s no doubt that the additions of Madueke and Eze have significantly decreased Arteta’s need to sign an elite left-winger like Rodrygo.
Martinelli is far from untouchable, though, and as a homegrown player, he can be sold for pure profit.
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