Gabriel Martinelli thanked the chefs, the doormen, the kit staff, the cleaners, his wife, and every teammate from the last seven years. He did not thank Mikel Arteta. That omission, deliberate and pointed, tells you more about how this ended than any transfer fee.
The £60 million move to Al-Hilal was confirmed on Thursday, wrapping up a summer that had been quietly humiliating for a player who contributed seriously to Arsenal's title charges in 2022-23 and 2023-24. Not included in the Community Shield squad. Left out of the opening match against Coventry. According to Ian Wright, Martinelli didn't even know what was happening — with a year left on his contract.
Wright called it uncomfortable. He wasn't wrong.
The Arsenal legend didn't hold back after the Coventry win. "With respect to Martinelli and the way he's being treated at the moment, it really makes me uncomfortable," Wright told Sky Sports. "He always gives 100 percent... and the way he's being treated at the end here — there's ways of doing that should suit him as well."
Wright's frustration was specific: Martinelli wasn't just being phased out, he was being frozen out. No conversation, no explanation, no squad place. For a player who had worn the shirt since 2019 — arriving as a teenager from Ituano for around £6 million and leaving for ten times that — it's a grim way to close a chapter.
Christos Tzolis and Ebere Eze have moved up the pecking order at the Emirates. That's a legitimate footballing call. Arteta has a right to reshape his attack. But Wright's point stands — how you do it matters, and from the outside, this looked careless.
What it means for Arsenal's season
Martinelli's departure tidies up the wage bill and removes a player who'd slipped down the rotation. On paper, a clean exit. But Arsenal are carrying a left-wing situation that still has questions around it — if Tzolis doesn't hit the ground running, those questions will get louder fast. The market has largely moved on, which limits Arteta's options if the depth looks thin come October.
As for Martinelli, Al-Hilal get a 25-year-old with Premier League pedigree, pace to burn, and — based on his farewell post — something to prove. "From 35 to 11. Once a Gunner, Always a Gunner." He wrote it with tears in his eyes, he said. He just didn't write Arteta's name.
