Arsenal agree club-record Gabriel Martinelli sale to Al Hilal

Gabriel Martinelli is set to leave Arsenal for Al Hilal in a deal that would become the biggest sale in the club’s history if completed.

Sky Sports reports that Arsenal have agreed a £55.7m fee with the Saudi Pro League club for the Brazil international, who has now been given permission to undergo a medical. The transfer has not yet been officially announced, but the agreement moves the operation into its final stage.

The fee would surpass the £40m Arsenal received from Liverpool for Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain in 2017, making Martinelli’s departure a significant financial moment as well as a major attacking exit. It also forms part of a broader late-window reshaping at Arsenal, with Gabriel Jesus moving towards Barcelona and Fabio Vieira close to joining Hamburg.

Martinelli’s sale would mark the end of a seven-year Arsenal story that began when he arrived from Ituano as an 18-year-old in 2019. He developed from a high-upside prospect into one of Mikel Arteta’s most important wide players, contributing pace, pressing and direct running during Arsenal’s rise back into title contention.

The timing is still notable. Martinelli has been closely associated with Arsenal’s modern identity under Arteta, but the club’s recruitment and attacking balance have changed across the summer. If the deal goes through, Arsenal will be choosing a record sale over keeping a player who had once looked central to their long-term front line.

For Al Hilal, the move would add a high-level Premier League winger still in his mid-20s, with international experience and the athletic profile to become a leading figure in their attack. It would also represent another statement signing by a Saudi Pro League club from one of England’s leading sides.

For Arsenal, the final question is how the money is used. The combined exits of Martinelli, Jesus and Vieira would bring in substantial funds, but they would also remove three attacking or creative options before the window closes. That makes the next 48 hours important not only for paperwork, but for judging whether Arsenal view these sales as squad trimming or part of a wider attacking reset.

Until the medical and club announcements are completed, Martinelli’s move should remain classified as advanced rather than official. The agreement is in place, but the transfer is not finished.