Ian Wright: Martinelli Deserves More Respect Amid Arsenal Exit Talks
Ian Wright has accused Arsenal of mishandling Gabriel Martinelli’s situation and says the Brazilian “deserves more respect” as the club prepare to cash in on one of their title‑winning forwards.
Martinelli, 25, played 53 games in all competitions last season, scored 11 goals and helped Arsenal over the line in the Premier League. Four years of graft, a key role under Mikel Arteta, a popular figure in the dressing room.
Now he’s not even making the bench.
Left out of the squad for the 3-0 league opener against Coventry on Friday. Omitted again from the Community Shield win over Manchester City. All while Arsenal quietly invite offers for him.
“The way Martinelli is being treated at the moment, it really makes me feel uncomfortable,” Wright told Sky Sports, his frustration clear.
“I know they might want him out, and a lot of people might say, ‘yeah, it’s time for him to move him on’. But there’s ways of doing that and it should suit him as well, how he wants to leave.
“Not being involved in the squad, not being spoken to, he doesn’t know what’s going on. And yes, I know this – he doesn’t know what is happening.
“He’s done enough with this squad to be treated with a little bit more respect than he’s being treated with at the moment.”
From cornerstone to collateral
Martinelli arrived from Ituano in 2019 as a raw, fearless winger and grew with Arteta’s project. He pressed, he ran, he scored big goals in big games. For much of the Spaniard’s tenure, he has been a symbol of the club’s new energy.
Now, as Arsenal try to turn one title into an era, he looks like an early casualty of their next phase.
Inside the club, the line is different. Arsenal deny he is being frozen out and point instead to their depth. New signing Christos Tzolis impressed on the left wing against Coventry, in Martinelli’s preferred role, and the club have already tested the market for another superstar in that area.
They tried to bring in Vinicius Jr before the Brazil forward committed his future to Real Madrid. That pursuit alone underlined how ruthless the champions are willing to be with established names.
Wright understands competition. What he struggles with is the way a mainstay can suddenly feel surplus.
“If you bring Vini in, Martinelli can say to himself, ‘OK, they’ve brought him in, they’ve brought Tzolis in, I might be third [in the pecking order],” Wright said.
“But if you bring Tzolis in and have [Noni] Madueke on the other side, you’re thinking to yourself, ‘I can still have it with these two, I’ve got something to offer’.
“For him to be nowhere near it, it just makes me feel a bit sad for him.”
Arsenal’s need to sell
Behind the emotion sits a hard financial reality. Arsenal want at least one significant sale before the window closes and have made it clear to suitors that Martinelli is available.
Inside the squad, he is viewed as one of their most sellable assets, alongside Gabriel Jesus and Fabio Vieira. A player in his prime, with Premier League pedigree, on a long enough contract to command a serious fee.
Martinelli has already rejected a move to Galatasaray. If he leaves the Emirates Stadium, he expects a top European club, Champions League lights, a stage that matches what he feels he has earned.
Arteta, speaking before the Coventry game, did not name names. He didn’t need to. His message was blunt.
“It’s a really tough moment, but you need to face that reality,” he said when asked about the prospect of established players moving on.
“You need to face it with real honesty and transparency because when you are on the other side, that’s exactly what you need.
“You might not like what you’ve been told, but if it’s truthful, if it’s the reality, if it’s honest and it’s going to help you to make better decisions and have more clarity for the next steps in your career, you have to do that.
“Everything has a start and has an end. And when it comes to the end, our duty, and our responsibility is to do it in the best possible way, maintaining the respect and admiration for the player and the relationship, but understanding that at the end, we need to make football decisions.”
That word – respect – is where Arteta and Wright meet, but also where the tension lies. The manager insists the club will handle departures with dignity. A club legend looks at a title winner stuck in limbo and wonders where that dignity is right now.
Arsenal have made their decision. The question now is whether Martinelli gets the exit befitting what he’s given them – or just becomes the first big name pushed out by a team desperate to stay on top.
