Arsenal transfer news: why Gabriel Martinelli's situation has become so awkward at the club

There are few colder feelings in football than discovering your club has decided to sell you.

For Gabriel Martinelli, though, the situation has become even more uncomfortable: Arsenal are already working to find a buyer for the Brazilian this transfer window, yet the player himself had not been directly informed that he could be leaving the club.

According to The Athletic, Arsenal are open to negotiating a deal for the 25-year-old and recently received an offer of £38.5m (€45m) from Galatasaray.

Martinelli, however, has shown no interest in moving to Turkey. His representatives are said to have made it clear to sporting director Andrea Berta that the player would only consider a move to a club and a league that match his ambitions.

Gabriel Martinelli: From symbol of Arsenal's rebuild to tradeable asset

The situation helps explain why Martinelli was left out of the squad entirely for the Community Shield, which Arsenal won 3-0 against Manchester City. Mikel Arteta opted to include Bukayo Saka and 16-year-old wonderkid Max Dowman among the substitutes, but found no room for the Brazilian.

Signed in 2019, Martinelli has been part of Arsenal's transformation and become one of the fans' most beloved players.

Last season, despite scoring just one goal in 30 Premier League appearances, he found the net ten times in knockout competitions, six of them in the Champions League, a competition in which the Gunners ultimately finished as runners-up.

In May, after Arsenal's title win, Martinelli summed up his relationship with the club by saying Arsenal had built not just a team, but a family and an identity. Now, though, the club appears willing to turn that bond into a market opportunity.

The Brazilian's contract runs until June 2027, next European summer, although Arsenal hold the option to extend it by a further year.

There are currently no talks over a new deal, according to The Athletic, and the club is aware this could be one of the last chances to secure a significant fee for the winger.

The arrival of Christos Tzolis, signed to replace Leandro Trossard, has also reduced the space available on the left flank. Arsenal have additionally attempted to move for names such as Vinicius Junior and Morgan Rogers, although neither deal materialised.

The club may simply be exploring possibilities without having reached a final decision. After all, if they fail to sign another winger, losing Martinelli would leave Arteta with fewer options for the position.

Arsenal new chapter: A 'ruthless' Arteta

Martinelli's potential departure also represents another chapter in Arsenal's transformation under Arteta.

The Spanish manager has spent years stripping sentimentality out of the squad. Players popular with supporters, such as Aaron Ramsdale and Emile Smith Rowe, were sold once the club felt it could find better alternatives.

It is a logic that has helped Arsenal return to the top of English football. But there is a fine line between being ruthless and appearing coldly institutional.

Martinelli has been at the club for seven years and, according to The Athletic, has still not been directly told that Arsenal intend to sell him. For the player, then, this is not simply about discovering he could leave the Emirates Stadium, but realising others already knew before he did.

There is also a practical issue at play: Martinelli has every right to reject a move he does not consider appealing, and that is exactly what happened with Galatasaray's offer.

Arsenal, for their part, do not need the player's permission to speak to other clubs or explore the market. But as talks move beyond the exploratory stage and become a genuine attempt to find a buyer, the lack of communication becomes a more delicate issue.

Arsenal want to firmly establish themselves among Europe's biggest clubs, and to do so, they will need to make increasingly tough decisions about their squad.

But how the club treats players who helped build that process will also be closely watched, both by those still at the club and by those Arsenal hope to sign in the future.