Gabriel Martinelli is open to leaving Arsenal this summer, and that leaves a live decision around one of the club’s most established attacking options. At 25, he has scored 62 goals in 278 appearances for Arsenal, yet his future is now tied to a window where Arsenal want sales as well as signings.
The Times reports that he is keen to explore a move abroad. That sits alongside Arsenal’s push to sign a left winger, with Mikel Arteta viewing that side of the pitch as the area that needs the most urgent attention in the transfer window.
Arsenal And Martinelli
Last Monday, the transfer window officially opened, and Arsenal are already dealing with the sort of squad reshaping that can force hard choices. The club are expected to spend heavily after last month’s Champions League final loss to Paris Saint, with a target of three to five higher quality players and a need to balance purchases with departures.
Martinelli’s situation is not a simple sale story. He has a year left on his contract, and Arsenal can extend it by an additional season, so any move this summer would still require a decision from both sides rather than a clean run to the exit.
That is the complication for Arsenal. He was previously linked with Bayern Munich before they landed Luis Diaz last summer, and his current value sits against the practical need to fund upgrades in a window where the club are trying to sharpen the squad rather than rebuild it in one go.
Piero Hincapie And Real Madrid
The same market pressure has reached Piero Hincapie. Real Madrid have made an inquiry for the 24-year-old, and Jose Mourinho is looking to hijack his permanent move to the Emirates Stadium after already signing four new players for Los Blancos.
say Real Madrid want a left-footed centre-back who can also play as a left-back, which fits Hincapie’s profile. Arsenal signed him last summer on a season-long loan from Bayer Leverkusen, and that deal includes an obligation to buy for £45m.
He has already played through Arsenal’s title-winning season, making 25 league appearances and a further 14 in cup competitions. Arteta used him as the first-choice left-back in his first season in England, so any move around his future would touch both the back line and the club’s spending plan.
For Arsenal, the immediate picture is clear: Martinelli’s willingness to look abroad and Hincapie’s £45m obligation both sit inside the same summer. If the club want three to five upgrades, they may have to decide which current players stay long enough to make room for them.
