Gabriel Martinelli says he felt like "an adopted Hale End boy" during his seven years at Arsenal. Martinelli has joined Saudi Pro League side Al-Hilal for a fee of £60m after being told by manager Mikel Arteta he was not part of his plans for this season. The 25-year-old joined the Gunners from Brazilian side Ituano in 2019 as an 18-year-old and made 278 appearances for the club, scoring 62 goals and providing 36 assists.
Former England midfielder Jamie Redknapp (Picture: Sky Sports) Jamie Redknapp has revealed his Premier League title prediction after Arsenal failed to sign £130m transfer target Julian Alvarez over the summer. Arsenal were pushing to sign Argentine striker Alvarez right up until the summer transfer window closed on Tuesday. Mikel Arteta even reportedly contacted Alvarez on multiple occasions to try to convince him to join the Premier League champions, but the Atletico Madrid star had his heart set on a move to Barcelona. Barca were equally attracted to the transfer but Atletico refused to sell Alvarez, who they value at 150m euros (£130m), to a direct La Liga rival. Exclusive Premier League previews Get ahead of the start of the season with our weekly football newsletter. Sign up now for free. That meant Alvarez remained in Madrid at the end of the transfer window and Arsenal missed out on another key target after their failed bid to sign Brazil icon Vinicius Junior from Real Madrid. The Gunners did bolster Arteta’s squad with several impressive signings, however, with Bruno Guimaraes, Ezri Konsa and Christos Tzolis also moving to north London. Redknapp says Alvarez would have been a clear ‘upgrade’ on Arteta’s current attacking options but does not expect the transfer setback to stop Arsenal from winning the Premier League. Arsenal tried to sign Julian Alvarez from Atletico Madrid (Picture: Getty) Arsenal, who won their first league title since 2004 last season, have made a bright start to their title defence, beating Coventry City on the opening weekend and Aston Villa on Monday night. Arteta’s side face an early test of their title credentials this weekend when Xabi Alonso takes his exciting Chelsea side to the Emirates Stadium. Asked whether Arsenal’s dream of signing Alvarez has died, Redknapp said on Sky Sports: ‘It seems to have. {"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Arteta praises Arsenal's maturity in 1-0 win over Aston Villa","contentUrl":"https:\/\/videos.metro.co.uk\/video\/met\/2026\/09\/01\/1030376710448723935\/480x270_MP4_1030376710448723935.mp4","description":"Arteta also stressed the importance of squad depth after Konsa was substituted on for his debut for a Mosquera struggling with an injury.","duration":"T4M26S","height":270,"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/i.dailymail.com\/1s\/2026\/09\/01\/07\/110968591-0-image-a-1_1788244180392.jpg","uploadDate":"2026-09-01T07:29:49+0100","width":480} To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Up Next Previous Page Next Page window.addEventListener('metroVideo:relatedVideosCarouselLoaded', function(data) { if (typeof(data.detail) === 'undefined' || typeof(data.detail.carousel) === 'undefined' || typeof(data.detail.carousel.el_) === 'undefined') { return; } var player = data.detail.carousel.el_; var container = player.closest('.metro-video-player'); var placeholder = container.querySelector('.metro-video-player__up-next-placeholder'); if (placeholder) { container.removeChild(placeholder); container.classList.add('metro-video-player--related-videos-loaded'); } }); ‘It would have been a great signing, he is an upgrade on the strikers they’ve already got. He’s an elite player. But it doesn’t look like that’s going to happen. ‘They obviously had their hearts set on Vini Junior as well, that didn’t happen either. They might just have to wait. You might have to wait until January if you want Alvarez and just be patient with the squad you’ve got. ‘There’s still a lot to be positive about. [Christos] Tzolis looks a really good player on the left-hand side, [Bruno] Guimaraes is going to be a really good signing, we saw that [against Aston Villa] albeit for 20 minutes. Some of his passing was top class. Arsenal won the Premier League last season (Picture: Getty) ‘They’ve got enough and they will win the title again with the squad they’ve already got. ‘It does leave you a little bit short on that
Arsenal poised to land PSG’s Élisa De AlmeidaNew United coach Olid promises attacking styleManchester City could be without Vivianne Miedema for at least the rest of 2026, the Guardian understands, after the Netherlands forward sustained a knee injury.According to multiple sources the injury is not an anterior cruciate ligament but is serious and there are fears she will not return until after the Women’s Super League’s winter break. A statement from the club on Tuesday said Miedema would miss the “start of the season”. Continue reading...
Forward follows Gabriel Jesus out of championsRicharlison not in Tottenham’s Premier League squadArsenal have confirmed Gabriel Martinelli has joined the Saudi Arabian side Al-Hilal for £60m. It is understood the deal for Brazil forward includes a sell-on clause.Martinelli, who joined Arsenal from Ituano in 2019, has fallen down the pecking order at the Emirates despite being part of the squad that won the Premier League title last season. His fee surpasses the previous record £40m received by Arsenal when they sold Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain to Liverpool in 2017. Continue reading...
Tap a headline to view metadata and excerpt fields in Sportra, then use the article website button to continue on the original publisher page.
