Arteta may be done with one playerplaceholder image
Arteta may be done with one player | Arsenal FC via Getty Images
Arsenal are reportedly offering one of their valuable stars to other clubs.
Arsenal are said to be offering a player to club ahead of the January transfer window. The Gunners are not expected to have a particularly busy January window due to spending well over £200million in the summer window.
Mikel Arteta was handed some hugely impressive signings and he now has very good depth at his disposal, which has not been the case in recent years. But with such depth comes increased competition, and some players are always likely to end up unhappy with their playing time,
One of those players may be winger Gabriel Martinelli, who has made 12 Premier League appearances this season, and only five of those have been starts. Martinelli has six goals in 18 appearances across all competitions, which is an impressive return for a winger, but he is still not a regular starter.
Arsenal have relied heavily on Martinelli in recent years, but the arrival of Eberechi Eze and Noni Madueke, as well as the return to form of Leandro Trossard, has complicated things for the Brazilian.
Ultimately, this is the sort of competition Arteta wanted within his squad, with players like Martinelli being all too guaranteed of a starting role in recent years, resulting in lesser performances that have not come with any sort of consequence.
But Arsenal now need to be careful with such players who are struggling for regular starts, and according to Sercan Hamzaoglu on FutbolArena, the Gunners are getting ahead of the situation, offering Martinelli to other clubs and placing him on the transfer list ahead of January.
The journalist claims the reports of interest ramping up in Martinelli are off the mark, with the case being that Arsenal have offered the winger to clubs rather than the clubs approaching them.
Fenerbahce have been linked with a move, but it remains to be seen whether they an afford the 24-year-old, who will carry significant value, and especially in January. The Turkish would perhaps prefer a loan or a loan to buy, but Arsenal must then ask themselves if a deal is worth it given it would cost them valuable depth out wide.
Martinelli’s age means he still has development still to come, and Arteta said in the summer that he was happy with the Brazilian. But Arsenal are going to have to balance spending going forward, and if the Brazilian does end up unhappy - which may or may not be the case already - then decisions may need to be made. Martinelli is under contract until 2027.
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