Photo by Abdullah Ahmed/Getty Images
Photo by Abdullah Ahmed/Getty Images
Arsenal finally broke their club-record sale when they shipped Gabriel Martinelli to Al Hilal for £60million this summer.
At the time, we wrote about how that deal could bring more benefits than just the immediate transfer fee. Building a relationship with Saudi Arabian clubs, and establishing trust and goodwill in doing business was always going to open up further discussions down the line.
The idea being that when Arsenal needed to move players on in future windows, those Saudi relationships would make the process considerably smoother. We might be seeing that starting to materialise already.
Clubs in Saudi Arabia are interested in signing Viktor Gyokeres
Viktor Gyokeres is unhappy at Arsenal, having played just 29 minutes of Premier League football this season.
Mikel Arteta has started Kai Havertz ahead of him in every single league game, and Gyokeres has been restricted to starting the Carabao Cup game against Ipswich and the Champions League game against Napoli. Despite winning both games, the Swede was dreadful in both.
TalkingPoints graphic of Arsenal player Viktor Gyokeres, overlaid by stats showing number of Premier League minutes played after the first two games of the 2026/27 season
TalkingPoints graphic of Arsenal player Viktor Gyokeres, overlaid by stats showing number of Premier League minutes played after the first two games of the 2026/27 season
That may be down to Gyokeres’ current motivation at the Gunners right now. He reportedly feels ‘undervalued’ and initial discussions with other clubs regarding an exit are already underway.
Serie A giants AC Milan and Juventus are among those interested, while Al-Ahli and Al-Ittihad of the Saudi Pro League are also circling. Those latter two, of course, are where the Martinelli connection comes in.
The Martinelli deal established a business relationship between Arsenal and Saudi Arabia. Al-Ahli and Al-Ittihad are two of the biggest clubs in the league and if they can sway Gyokeres’ head, they could lure him to join his former Gunners teammate in the Middle East.
Gyokeres is 28 and in the prime years of his career but clearly not the right fit for Arteta’s system. He would probably prefer a move to a Champions League club, but the Saudi Pro League could genuinely be a good fit for him. He would bag loads of goals there and help rebuild his stock, of course, while earning a hefty wage.
Despite him falling down the pecking order at Arsenal, the Gunners might be optimistic about recouping most of the £55million they paid for him. But the likes of Milan and Juventus may struggle to accept the Swede’s wage demands, given that he earns £220,000-a-week at the Emirates. Saudi, however, could afford that, and would be willing to do so given his high-profile stature.