Gabriel Martinelli transfer grades: Arsenal attacker moves to Al-Hilal in $81 million deal

The Gunners made quite a profit on the Brazilian, obliterating their previous record sale of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain Sep 3, 2026 at 3:09 pm ET • 7 min read A record sale for Arsenal. A Premier League-winning Brazil international for Al-Hilal. A bumper salary packet for Gabriel Martinelli. On first viewing, here is a transfer that ticks every box and yet dig deeper and it is hard to shake the sense that each party wanted a little bit more than what they have settled for.The eventual terms of Martinelli's move to Saudi Arabia are significant. Al-Hilal have committed to $81 million (€70 million), all in guaranteed money, with a proportion of any future transfer due to Arsenal, which CBS Sports first revealed were part of the negotiations on Aug. 24. Meanwhile, Al-Hilal are understood to be including a clause that will function as a sizeable release clause for any European suitors.That sale obliterates Arsenal's previous record sale, the £35 million departure of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain to Liverpool nine years ago. This is a very handy return on the £6 million they paid when they plucked Martinelli from the Brazilian fourth tier in 2019 on the recommendation of then recruitment chief Francis Cagigao. It is also the third-highest fee ever paid by a Saudi club behind Jhon Duran's move to Al-Nassr in January of last year and Neymar's to Al-Hilal in the summer of 2023.Martinelli too is doing well out of the move. Last month CBS Sports revealed that the 25-year-old had been offered a salary of over $23 million (€20 million) with the potential for further bonuses, a huge pay rise on what he was earning at Arsenal. Whether the salary packet is ultimately what convinced him to make the move only he knows, but the Brazilian had entered the summer keen to stay and fight for his future in north London, even going so far as to reject interest from Galatasaray earlier in the window. Talks with Mikel Arteta subsequently made clear to Martinelli that the limited role he had got at the start of the season -- not even in the squad for the Community Shield or Premier League opener -- might well continue. These talks are understood to have taken place before club legend Ian Wright criticised Arsenal's treatment of the winger. Having spoken to his manager, it became apparent to Martinelli that he had to move on.Prior to this summer, Martinelli's view was that if he were to leave Arsenal, it would only be for a club that afforded him a similar opportunity to compete at the highest level of the European game. Those teams have been interested -- Bayern Munich and Atletico Madrid in 2025, Paris Saint-Germain in 2026 -- but have pressed ahead with other targets. No other side came in with an offer for Martinelli this summer. Twelve months ago Martinelli's services were offered to Saudi clubs, including Al-Nassr, by intermediaries, but the player swiftly dismissed interest. Now Riyadh proved to be the best landing spot on offer.Game time and a starring role at Al-Hilal might attract interest from those giants again. If so, it will cost them. Sources have told CBS Sports that there is a penalty clause in Martinelli's contract with Al-Hilal, active until 2030, which will effectively require European clubs to pay an additional fee if they want to bring him back to the continent. Though competition was limited, his signing is a significant coup for Al-Hilal, an international forward who brings Premier League experience at a time when new ownership and technical director Simon Francis, once of Bournemouth, are determined to bring a bit of the English game to Saudi Arabia. Al-Hilal also explored a move for Chelsea's Pedro Neto a $135 million price tag soon made Martinelli a more appealing option. Going into the window, it is understood their top target had been another player who found himself involved in Arsenal's transfer business this summer. A source has told CBS Sports that Al-Hilal were ready to make a major contract offer to Vinicius Junior if he were a free agent in 2027. Instead, amid heavy interest from the English champions, the Brazilian extended his contract at Real Madrid. His backup at the Seleçao is an eminently adequate fallback option.Martinelli is Al-Hilal's third signing from the Premier League this summer, following West Ham winger Crysencio Summerville and Aston Villa striker Ollie Watkins. Such aggressive spending runs in contrast to many of their rivals and comes after sovereign wealth fund PIF sold a majority stake to billionaire Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal, a member of the Saudi royal family. Meanwhile, the three clubs that are still owned by PIF have been affected by the scaling back at the organization. Al-Nassr, for instance, had lined up a move for Manchester City forward Omar Marmoush but were unable to secure funding for the deal before he joined Tottenham. Why aren't Arsenal replacing Martinelli?For Arsenal, the sale of Martinelli is a success but tinged with many questions of what might have been. When their No.11 signed his most recent contract in February 2023, he was in the midst of a season where he would be the top scorer for a title-challenging side. Barely a meeting with Liverpool went by without Jurgen Klopp praising to the heavens a youngster who seemed bound for greatness.Instead, the following three seasons delivered only as many Premier League goals, 15, as that breakout campaign. Injuries slowed his development but perhaps so did Arteta deploying the winger out on the left touchline, shaving half a shot per 90 minutes off the youngster's numbers. Might Arsenal have also left it a little later than ideal to have a full, frank and firm conversation with Martinelli? There were certainly moments in his career where $81 million would have been a paltry fee for such a talent. Part of being the good sellers supporters wish their club to be is spotting the real downturn before the market does, perhaps as early as the 2023-24 season. CBS Sports Selling Martinelli went a long way to giving Arsenal the financial firepower to strengthen their attack, and yet they held their powder dry. The Gunners now have the muscle to go and do a deal for any marquee forward they want. Come the end of the window, they could not find that player. Or at least they could not find that player who wanted to sign for them. Club sources believe they came very close to signing Vinicius, that had it not been for a last-gasp caving in by Real Madrid in the form of a fresh contract, the Brazilian would have been an Arsenal player. Julian Alvarez would not give up on his dream of wearing a Barcelona shirt.Arsenal saw no one else they believed to be at that level. Morgan Rogers, who pushed for a move to the Emirates Stadium even after Chelsea and Aston Villa agreed a fee, and Bradley Barcola moved to rivals for fees of around $150 million, greater than the Gunners were prepared to go. Lower budget options were dismissed over fears they might prove unflippable. Malick Fofana was offered to them late in the window, and yet skeptics raised the prospect of the 21-year-old, who ultimately joined Sunderland, being another Fabio Vieira, the seemingly talented young attacking midfielder who looked a bargain at $46 million in the summer of 2022 but left for $10.4 million plus a sell-on clause on deadline day.What Arsenal want is clear. They want a player who could feasibly win them a Champions League final. They are prepared to wait to see if that player becomes available in January or next summer. The reality is that a year from now that player might not be any more acquirable. They might have to make their own just as they did with Saka. When Martinelli signed his last deal, it really seemed they had. In the meantime, Arsenal do not want for options on the left flank. After a sparkling debut against Coventry City, Christos Tzolis is the man in possession of the left wing spot. Eberechi Eze has played around 20% of his Premier League minutes out on the left for the Gunners; that number might need to swing up as Martin Odegaard stakes a stronger claim to be the starting attacking midfielder. When Noni Madueke arrived from Chelsea, it was with a view to him featuring on both sides of the pitch.Whether or not Arsenal chose the right financial moment to sell Martinelli, one thing is certain. It would have been a shame for player and club if they were not together for the zenith of a project in which the Brazilian was a key cog. Martinelli leaves a Premier League champion and while he may have only scored one goal in the triumph there were few more crucial than his hooked finish over Gianluigi Donnarumma, earning a 1-1 draw with title rivals Manchester City without which the title race might have looked very different.Arsenal transfer grade, B: A club record sale at nearly 10 times what they paid for him is never a bad outcome. However, there were times in Martinelli's time in north London when he could have gone for far more than the fee they eventually got. Al-Hilal transfer grade, B+: At a quite sizeable price in terms of fee and wages, Al-Hilal secure the sort of prime-age star name that, even in the age of Pro League mega-spending, has not always been so easily acquired.Gabriel Martinelli transfer grade, C: A $23 million annual salary is not to be sniffed at but the fact that the Saudi giants were the only team to push the boat out for Martinelli is a worrying sign of a career that is in need of some revival.