Fabrizio Romano has revealed how Arsenal truly feel about Gabriel Martinelli amid rumours that manager Mikel Arteta and sporting director Andrea Berta are willing to sell the winger to fund a move for Real Madrid star Rodrygo.
Martinelli has been on the books of Arsenal since 2019 and has developed into one of the best wingers in the Premier League over the years. The Brazil international has made 229 appearances for the north London club so far in his career, scoring 52 goals and providing 30 assists in the process.
Former Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp was a huge fan of Martinelli and described the Arsenal winger as a “talent of the century” and “really unbelievable” in 2019.
There was speculation on the future of the winger in the summer transfer window, with Bayern Munich interested in Martinelli.
Bayern eventually signed Luis Diaz from Liverpool, but rumours on the future of Martinelli remain.
CaughtOffSide has reported that Arsenal sporting director Berta is willing to offload Martinelli, who was valued at £60million (€69m, $81m) in the summer and has drawn interest from AC Milan for a potential January move.
Arsenal already have a replacement in mind, with Arteta and Berta keen on a deal for Real Madrid and Brazil international winger Rodrygo.
The Athletic has also reported Arsenal’s ‘ongoing evolution’ could lead to the departure of Martinelli from the Emirates Stadium.
However, according to transfer guru Fabrizio Romano, Arsenal are very happy with Martinelli, especially after his heroics in the Champions League in midweek.
Arsenal beat Athletic Bilbao 2-0 at Estadio de San Mames in the League Phase on Tuesday evening.
Martinelli came on as a substitute in the 71st minute and immediately scored the opening goal for Arteta’s team.
The winger provided the assist for Leandro Trossard in the 87th for Arsenal’s second and final goal of the match.
When asked about Arsenal feel about Martinelli, Romano told GiveMeSport: “Very happy.”
Romano added: “Top mentality, coming off the bench in fantastic way. Arsenal are very happy with Gabriel.”
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Gabriel Martinelli confidence for Arsenal shines
Martinelli looked supremely confident after coming on for Arsenal against Bilbao, and the winger’s comments after the game reveal why.
The winger had already noticed something very interesting from the bench and used that to his advantage to score the opening goal for the north London club.
ESPN quotes Martinelli as saying: “When I came on, I just tried to get in behind. I wanted to see where I could find the space. I had said to the guys on the bench that there was a huge space in behind.
“Leo saw me, it was a great ball from him, and I just tried to put the ball in the net. For the second goal, I wanted to go past my man and look to find someone in the box, and I knew they were tired, too. I was able to find Leo, and he did the rest.”
Martinelli added: “They were playing at home, so they did well too, but I thought we were clinical and deserved to win,” Martinelli continued.
“When you play for Arsenal, you go to win every game, so it is really good to start the campaign with the victory.
“We know how big we are when we have this badge on our chest, and with the family we have. We are a big club and we want to win every single match.”
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