Mikel Arteta and Gabriel Martinelli in discussion. Photo: Getty Images
Arsenal have received a $74 million bid for Brazilian attacker Gabriel Martinelli from Galatasaray, The Athletic reports.
Ethan Nwaneri and Martinelli are two players the Premier League champions are open to offers for, according to BBC, as they look to refine their squad for their title defence.
But Martinelli is reportedly reluctant to make the switch from England to Turkey, particularly at just 25 years of age, even though they are in the Champions League, reigning league winners and have the likes of Victor Osimhen, Leroy Sane, Ilkay Gundogan and Lucas Torreira on their books.
Martinelli’s reluctance also stems from the fact he has been in north London since he was 19, and enjoyed 53 appearances during their Premier League winning and Champions League runner-up campaign last term, scoring 11 times.
He is under contract at Arsenal until 2027 but with Christo Tzolis coming in from Club Brugge in attack already, and a need for Mikel Arteta to balance his books, having already shown that hand offloading Christian Norgaard to Everton and Leandro Trossard to Besiktas, more changes will be afoot at the Emirates Stadium before the window closes.
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Gabriel Martinelli enjoying a moment with Brazil. Photo: Getty Images
The uncertainty is a blow for a player coming off the World Cup with Brazil, where he only started once but did enjoy the high of netting their clutch match winner against Japan in the Round of 32.
Nwaneri, 19, has been linked with a range of clubs including AC Milan, Fulham, Red Bull Leipzig and Borussia Dortmund, while other players linked with exits include Reiss Nelson, with West Ham linked, Gabriel Jesus, Fabio Vieira and, since the arrival of Bruno Guimaraes, Spanish midfielder Martin Zubimendi has also been deemed surplus to requirements according to some reports.