Arsenal wake up on Friday with the transfer window finally behind them, but there is plenty for Mikel Arteta to consider before Chelsea arrive at the Emirates Stadium. Gabriel Martinelli has completed his club-record departure, questions remain over Arsenal’s attacking business and the manager still has several fitness calls to make. Arsenal Women also discover their Champions League opponents later today.
Here are the biggest Arsenal talking points this morning.
Martinelli’s £60m departure changes Arsenal’s summer numbers
Gabriel Martinelli’s seven-year Arsenal career is officially over.
🚨🇧🇷 𝐎𝐅𝐅𝐈𝐂𝐈𝐀𝐋 | Al Hilal sign Gabriel Martinelli (25) from Arsenal! £60m fee. 🔵✅
Martinell is now Arsenal's RECORD sale. 💰🥇 pic.twitter.com/v8nXOUBDTL
— EuroFoot (@eurofootcom) September 3, 2026
The Brazilian has joined Al-Hilal for £60million, becoming the biggest sale in Arsenal history.
Read Arsenal covered the confirmation in our report on Martinelli’s club-record £60m move to Al-Hilal.
The significance goes beyond simply removing another attacker from Arteta’s squad.
Sky Sports reports that the agreement includes a sell-on clause and says Arsenal have now generated more than £120m from player sales this summer.
Martinelli also arrived from Ituano for a relatively small fee in 2019, meaning the £60m received now produces an enormous accounting profit.
That will become particularly important when assessing Arsenal’s net spend, amortisation and wider financial position.
For supporters, though, the more striking point may be just how completely Arteta’s original squad has disappeared.
Sky Sports notes that Bukayo Saka is now the last remaining member of the group Arteta inherited in December 2019.
This rebuild has been ruthless.
Arsenal’s failure to land another elite attacker will not disappear
Martinelli leaving naturally leads into the biggest unresolved question from the window.
Did Arsenal allow too many forwards to go?
Martinelli, Gabriel Jesus and Leandro Trossard have all left permanently, while Ethan Nwaneri is spending the campaign on loan with Borussia Dortmund.
Arsenal did add Christos Tzolis and retain significant quality through Saka, Eberechi Eze, Kai Havertz and Viktor Gyökeres.
But they also tried to go further.
In fresh post-window discussion, Sky Sports’ Transfer Talk Podcast has looked at Arsenal missing out on Morgan Rogers, Julian Alvarez and Vinicius Junior.
That reinforces the concern raised in our existing Arsenal summer transfer verdict.
The £198.5m rebuild improved several areas of the squad considerably.
Finishing it without the elite attacker Arsenal were clearly chasing remains the gamble.
Chelsea on Sunday will provide an early indication of whether Arteta already has enough.
Mosquera and Bruno give Arteta decisions before Chelsea
Thursday’s training session created another talking point.
Cristhian Mosquera and Bruno Guimarães were both absent from the open portion of training ahead of Sunday’s game.
Importantly, neither absence should automatically be treated as confirmation of a new injury.
Mosquera came off during the 1-0 win at Aston Villa after feeling a potential muscular issue, although Arteta initially played down the severity.
We are tracking the defensive picture in our latest Arsenal injury update ahead of Chelsea.
William Saliba remains unavailable and Jurrien Timber has continued individual work, which makes Ezri Konsa’s £55m arrival increasingly important.
Bruno’s situation is also worth watching after the £75m midfielder only recently returned to action.
Declan Rice trained on Thursday, while our current Arsenal predicted XI against Chelsea has Rice and Myles Lewis-Skelly starting in midfield.
That prediction can still change significantly before Sunday.
Eze has another opportunity to claim Arsenal’s left wing
Martinelli’s departure also creates a fascinating question on the pitch.
Who now owns Arsenal’s left side?
Tzolis started the opening two league matches, but his difficult first half at Aston Villa resulted in Arteta introducing Eze at the interval.
Arsenal improved and Eze was involved in the move which eventually produced Saka’s winner.
Gary Neville has since argued that Arteta should make that change from the start against Chelsea, as covered in our report on Neville’s Tzolis and Eze verdict.
One poor half should not define Tzolis.
🗣️Gary Neville says Eze has to start over Tzolis in #Arsenal’s next PL game against Chelsea: “I thought Eze did really well in the second half against Villa, I would be surprised if he doesn’t play next week against Chelsea. It’s a big game and Mikel Arteta might just have to… pic.twitter.com/uOMjagY3UV
— Arsenal News Channel (@Arsenalnewschan) September 2, 2026
But Martinelli leaving means this is no longer simply a temporary selection debate involving three left-sided attackers.
There is a shirt available to win.
Eze has the opportunity to take it.
Arsenal Women discover Champions League opponents today
There is also a huge morning ahead for Arsenal Women.
The Women’s Champions League league-phase draw takes place at 11am BST today, with Arsenal among the Pot 1 clubs.
Our existing Arsenal Women Champions League draw guide will be updated throughout the draw.
UEFA confirms that every club will face six different opponents.
Teams play two clubs from each of the three pots, with one fixture from each pot at home and one away.
That means Arsenal can still receive major European opponents despite being among the highest seeds.
The complete dates and kick-off times will then be released on Saturday.
Before Europe begins, Renée Slegers’ side open their WSL campaign away to Brighton on Sunday.
For Arsenal, Friday therefore starts with one transfer window closed but plenty of important questions still open.
Arteta has Chelsea to prepare for.
Arsenal Women have a Champions League draw to navigate.
And the consequences of one of the club’s most aggressive transfer windows will continue to shape both the squad and the conversation around it.
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