Marquinhos is set to leave Arsenal and return to Brazil.Marquinhos is set to leave Arsenal and return to Brazil.
Marquinhos is set to leave Arsenal and return to Brazil. | Arsenal FC via Getty Images
Cruzeiro appeared to hint at an imminent permanent transfer from Arsenal over the weekend.
Arsenal midfielder Marquinhos looks set to end his time at the north London club and return to Brazil permanently with his transfer exit ‘leaked’ by Cruzeiro.
The Gunners are already set to lose the experienced Jorginho from the heart of midfield with the former Chelsea man to leave the club as a free agent this summer. The Italian is expected to head to Brazil himself with Flamengo waiting to welcome the star.
He looks set to be joined by Marquinhos, who is about to head into the last two years of the contract signed when arriving at the club from Sao Paulo in 2022. The 22-year-old had been tipped for big things when arriving at the Emirates Stadium, nominated for the Golden Boy award that year.
Arsenal golden boy set for permanent exit
However, the midfielder has made just six first team appearances for the Arsenal first team and had been sent on loan to Norwich City, Nantes and Fluminense in recent years. In January, Marquinhos joined Cruzeiro on loan.
During his loan spell at the Brazilian club, it had been reported that Marquinhos was being left out of some matchday squads due to a clause in the deal that would see a permanent transfer triggered should he make 20 appearances in the first half of the Brazilian season. The midfielder has currently made 18 outings.
However, it now appears that Cruzeiro will make the loan move permanent thanks to a social media post from the club. Over the weekend, it was confirmed that Marquinhos would change his shirt number from 17 to seven - a more prestigious digit.
Gunners look to breathe new life into midfield
Arsenal are expected to receive £2.5 million from that deal and will not get in the way of the transfer exit. The Gunners are wanting to bolster their midfield with the imminent arrival of Martin Zubimendi from Real Sociedad this summer. There remain questions over the future of Thomas Partey, who is out of contract at the Emirates Stadium but is believed to be in talks over a possible extension to his stay.
Mikel Arteta had hoped for big things from Marquinhos during his early days with Arsenal. The midfielder picked up a goal and assist on his first team debut in a Europa League win over FC Zurich in 2022. After that match, the Arsenal manager said: “I was looking more at the faces of the rest of the staff and players (when he scored). He’s very popular, with no English, just with his smile and attitude. He has earned the respect and admiration of everybody here.
“It was a big step for him because he hasn’t played enough minutes with us but we were willing to give him the opportunity. I think he deserved it, I think he took it really well and he’s a player that needs to keep developing and in order to do that we need to give him opportunities.”
In other news, Arsenal now "in talks" to sign "always dangerous" star alongside Benjamin Sesko who has 53 Premier League G/A.
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