Arsenal Consider £38m Galatasaray Bid for Martinelli

Arsenal have a major call to make on Gabriel Martinelli after Galatasaray tested their resolve with a £38million offer for the winger.

The Brazilian has just a year left on his current deal in north London, though the club hold an option to extend that by a further 12 months. That safety net has not stopped Arsenal from being open to a sale at the right price this summer, and Galatasaray have now forced the issue.

The Turkish giants have lodged a formal bid and view Martinelli as a statement signing, a player to lift the dressing room and the stands. Whether the 25-year-old is prepared to make the move is another matter.

Martinelli is not thought to be agitating for an exit and would prefer to stay in one of Europe’s top leagues. His future, for now, sits in a grey area: not untouchable, not actively pushing his way out either.

Arsenal’s wider transfer plan could decide it. The club are still hunting a new left winger, and the final weeks of the window are expected to be dominated by outgoings. The Gunners are looking to find buyers for Gabriel Jesus, Reiss Nelson and Fabio Vieira, with those three seen as prime candidates to make way.

If those deals stall or the market fails to open up as hoped, more high-profile departures have not been ruled out. Martinelli sits squarely in that bracket.

Mikel Arteta wants another dimension on the left flank, a different profile to stretch games and give him more variety in the final third. That search would have to accelerate quickly if Arsenal decide to cash in on Martinelli.

The rebuild on that side has already started. Christos Tzolis arrived from Club Brugge earlier in the summer in a £34m move and has impressed in pre-season. His signing, though, was made with Leandro Trossard’s exit in mind, the Belgian having joined Besiktas in a £15.3m deal.

Tzolis was always planned as part of a pair: a promising addition alongside a more marquee arrival, not the sole answer.

Martinelli, seven years on from first joining Arsenal, has never fully nailed down the status of undisputed first-choice winger. Now, with Galatasaray’s money on the table and Arteta reshaping his attack, the club must decide whether this is the moment to finally move on or double down on a player still waiting to truly own that left flank.