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Arsenal's Gabriel Martinelli Set to Join Al-Hilal in Record £60m Deal

Gabriel Martinelli is on the verge of completing a move from Arsenal to Saudi Pro League side Al-Hilal in a deal that could reach £60 million, making it the club's most lucrative sale. Footage of the winger in Riyadh has emerged as the transfer window in Saudi Arabia remains open until September 6. Arsenal have full agreement for the sale, with Martinelli set to undergo a medical and sign a four-year contract.

By Tertius News AI Desk 2 distinct · 2 mastheads · 2 articles Version 1 Coverage Sep 1–2, 2026 Published 1h ago

distinct = voices after wire copies and reprints of the same article collapse; mastheads = publisher names; articles = URLs

Transfer Nears Completion

Gabriel Martinelli is poised to complete his move from Arsenal to Al-Hilal, with the Saudi Pro League club having reached a full agreement for the sale of the Brazil international. Footage has emerged of the 25-year-old winger in Riyadh, where he has arrived to finalise the transfer.

The summer transfer window may have closed in England, but the Saudi Arabian window remains open until September 6, giving Al-Hilal additional time to complete the deal. According to reports, Martinelli is set to undergo his medical on Wednesday before signing a four-year contract with the Riyadh-based club.

Record Sale for Arsenal

Once the move is officially announced, Martinelli will become Arsenal's record sale. The fee could reach £60 million, surpassing the £35 million the Gunners received from Liverpool for Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain in 2017. The deal is reportedly valued at £55.7 million plus £4.3 million in add-ons.

Martinelli spent seven years at Arsenal after joining from Ituano as an 18-year-old. During his time at the Emirates Stadium, he helped the club win the FA Cup, the Premier League, and the Community Shield three times, scoring 62 goals and registering 36 assists in 278 appearances.

His departure follows a season in which he lost his starting spot to Leandro Trossard, who has since moved to Besiktas. Arsenal brought in Christos Tzolis from Club Brugge for £34 million, and were actively pursuing a left winger up until the deadline.

Martinelli's Arsenal Career

Martinelli joined Arsenal in 2019, and his arrival was marked by a memorable first interview in which he said: "This is a dream since I was a child, and also my family's dream for me to be playing in Europe and playing for a big team like Arsenal."

His contract was due to expire next summer, and the transfer appeared to represent the club's last opportunity to command a sizeable fee unless he committed to new terms. Galatasaray had made an approach for the Brazilian earlier in August, but he declined the opportunity to move to the Turkish club.

Arteta's Comments

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has spoken about the conversations regarding Martinelli's future, saying: "There are those conversations and those conversations go both ways. I'm very satisfied with how these conversations went because I know what is in each other's hearts and the words that come through in that conversation made me really happy."

He added: "It's inevitable that at some point you need to have certain discussions and say certain things that sometimes are tough. I think everybody knows and recognises how much we love Gabi. Whatever the outcome is, it will be because everybody agrees to that."

On Tuesday, Arteta also referred to the situation as "another personal situation that we're dealing with."

Martinelli's Recent Absences

Martinelli did not feature in any of Arsenal's matchday squads against Manchester City and Coventry, and was absent again on Monday night as Bukayo Saka's goal helped the Gunners beat Aston Villa at Villa Park. The reason for his omission this time was that he was travelling to Saudi Arabia to finalise his transfer to Al-Hilal.

Martinelli could make his debut for Al-Hilal when they travel to Al-Shabab on Friday.

Other Deadline Day Moves

On the same day, Arsenal confirmed that Ethan Nwaneri has joined Borussia Dortmund on a season-long loan deal. Gabriel Jesus has also left the club to join Barcelona in a deal that could reach £12.9 million including add-ons.

How each outlet told it

A framing line is our reading of that outlet's own text — an interpretation, not a quotation and not a fact we assert. Check it against what the outlet published.

Daily Express

Framing: Highlights the completion of the transfer, emphasizing the medical and post-deadline timing. — Informative and neutral

as of Sep 2, 2026, 4:16 PM UTC

Facts Included:

Gabriel Martinelli's proposed transfer to Al-Hilal remains on course to be completed, despite the summer transfer window shutting in England.
Because the Saudi Arabia transfer window remains open until September 6, Al-Hilal have additional time to finalise the agreement.
According to The Athletic, the Brazil international is set to undergo his medical on Wednesday before putting pen to paper on a four-year deal at the Riyadh-based club.
During that period, he helped the Gunners claim the FA Cup and the Premier League as well as the Community Shield three times, netting 62 goals and registering 36 assists in 278 appearances.
With the Martinelli fee potentially reaching £60m, he is poised to become Arsenal's most lucrative sale in history, surpassing Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain's £35m switch to Liverpool in 2017.
Martinelli's Arsenal contract was due to expire next summer, and it appeared this represented the club's last opportunity to command a sizeable fee for the winger, unless he committed to fresh terms.
His departure seemed inevitable after he lost his starting berth to Leandro Trossard last season.
While Trossard has since departed to join Besiktas, Christos Tzolis has arrived in a £34m deal from Club Brugge, and the Gunners were actively pursuing a left winger right up until Tuesday's deadline.
Galatasaray had made an approach for Martinelli earlier in August, but the Brazilian snubbed the opportunity to move to the Turkish club.
The Arsenal manager said: "That's another personal situation that we're dealing with."
The then-18-year-old said: "This is a dream since I was a child, and also my family's dream for me to be playing in Europe and playing for a big team like Arsenal."
Martinelli could make his Al-Hilal debut when they travel to Al-Shabab on Friday.

Read the source article →

Evening Standard as of Sep 1, 2026, 9:48 PM UTC

Facts Included:

Gabriel Martinelli is poised to complete his move from Arsenal to Al-Hilal, with footage emerging of the winger in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Arsenal have reached a full agreement for the sale of the Brazil international.
Martinelli did not feature in any of the Gunners’ matchday squads against Manchester City and Coventry, and was absent once again on Monday night as Bukayo Saka’s goal helped down Aston Villa at Villa Park.
Once the move is officially announced, Martinelli will become Arsenal’s record sale at £60million, eclipsing the £35m received from Liverpool for Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain in 2017.
Mikel Arteta said: "There are those conversations and those conversations go both ways."
Arsenal have confirmed Ethan Nwaneri has joined Borussia Dortmund on a season-long loan deal.

Read the source article →

What was claimed, and who backed it

AI-extracted; can misattribute a claim — see Methodology.

Each row is one claim, attributed to the outlet whose wording states it most clearly. Confidence rates how directly the source text states the claim — explicit and unhedged rates high; hedged, pieced-together, or internally inconsistent statements rate lower. It does not measure whether the claim is true. Status is Contested when two claims on this page negate each other; otherwise it counts the mastheads we found asserting that specific claim — so a single-source claim can still show high confidence, and a multi-source claim can show medium. Every one of those outlets is named beside the status, so you can check the count against the list. For claims extracted before we began storing that list, the row says so: it names the outlet the claim is quoted from and states that we have not recorded which outlets backed it. Outlets wrote at different times, so a figure that evolves — a casualty count, for example — can legitimately differ between rows; check the "as of" time next to each claim's source.

Claim	Confidence	Status
ClaimGabriel Martinelli's proposed transfer to Al-Hilal remains on course to be completed, despite the summer transfer window shutting in England.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via Daily Express as of Sep 2, 2026, 4:16 PM UTC
ClaimBecause the Saudi Arabia transfer window remains open until September 6, Al-Hilal have additional time to finalise the agreement.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via Daily Express as of Sep 2, 2026, 4:16 PM UTC
ClaimAccording to The Athletic, the Brazil international is set to undergo his medical on Wednesday before putting pen to paper on a four-year deal at the Riyadh-based club.	ConfidenceMedium	StatusSingle-source via Daily Express as of Sep 2, 2026, 4:16 PM UTC
ClaimDuring his time at Arsenal, Gabriel Martinelli helped the Gunners claim the FA Cup and the Premier League as well as the Community Shield three times, netting 62 goals and registering 36 assists in 278 appearances.	ConfidenceMedium	StatusSingle-source via Daily Express as of Sep 2, 2026, 4:16 PM UTC
ClaimWith the Martinelli fee potentially reaching £60m, he is poised to become Arsenal's most lucrative sale in history, surpassing Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain's £35m switch to Liverpool in 2017.	ConfidenceMedium	StatusMulti-source (2 outlets · 2 distinct) via Daily Express as of Sep 2, 2026, 4:16 PM UTC, Evening Standard as of Sep 1, 2026, 9:48 PM UTC
ClaimMartinelli's Arsenal contract was due to expire next summer, and it appeared this represented the club's last opportunity to command a sizeable fee for the winger, unless he committed to fresh terms.	ConfidenceMedium	StatusSingle-source via Daily Express as of Sep 2, 2026, 4:16 PM UTC
ClaimHis departure seemed inevitable after he lost his starting berth to Leandro Trossard last season.	ConfidenceMedium	StatusSingle-source via Daily Express as of Sep 2, 2026, 4:16 PM UTC
ClaimWhile Trossard has since departed to join Besiktas, Christos Tzolis has arrived in a £34m deal from Club Brugge.	ConfidenceMedium	StatusSingle-source via Daily Express as of Sep 2, 2026, 4:16 PM UTC
ClaimGalatasaray had made an approach for Martinelli earlier in August, but the Brazilian snubbed the opportunity to move to the Turkish club.	ConfidenceMedium	StatusSingle-source via Daily Express as of Sep 2, 2026, 4:16 PM UTC
ClaimThe Arsenal manager said: "That's another personal situation that we're dealing with."	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via Daily Express as of Sep 2, 2026, 4:16 PM UTC
ClaimThe then-18-year-old said: "This is a dream since I was a child, and also my family's dream for me to be playing in Europe and playing for a big team like Arsenal."	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via Daily Express as of Sep 2, 2026, 4:16 PM UTC
ClaimMartinelli could make his Al-Hilal debut when they travel to Al-Shabash on Friday.	ConfidenceLow	StatusSingle-source via Daily Express as of Sep 2, 2026, 4:16 PM UTC
ClaimGabriel Martinelli is poised to complete his move from Arsenal to Al-Hilal, with footage emerging of the winger in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via Evening Standard as of Sep 1, 2026, 9:48 PM UTC
ClaimArsenal have reached a full agreement for the sale of the Brazil international.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via Evening Standard as of Sep 1, 2026, 9:48 PM UTC
ClaimMartinelli did not feature in any of the Gunners’ matchday squads against Manchester City and Coventry, and was absent once again on Monday night as Bukayo Saka’s goal helped down Aston Villa at Villa Park.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via Evening Standard as of Sep 1, 2026, 9:48 PM UTC
ClaimOnce the move is officially announced, Martinelli will become Arsenal’s record sale at £60million, eclipsing the £35m received from Liverpool for Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain in 2017.	ConfidenceMedium	StatusMulti-source (2 outlets · 2 distinct) via Evening Standard as of Sep 1, 2026, 9:48 PM UTC, Daily Express as of Sep 2, 2026, 4:16 PM UTC
ClaimMikel Arteta said: "There are those conversations and those conversations go both ways."	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via Evening Standard as of Sep 1, 2026, 9:48 PM UTC
ClaimArsenal have confirmed Ethan Nwaneri has joined Borussia Dortmund on a season-long loan deal.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via Evening Standard as of Sep 1, 2026, 9:48 PM UTC

Transparency & Audit Trail

2 distinct · 2 mastheads · 2 articles consulted: Daily Express, Evening Standard 18 claims extracted Version 1 Written 2026-09-02