A long-standing Arsenal transfer record looks set to be broken following a new bid.
The Gunners have flirted with the idea of smashing several records this summer, with an audacious plan to land Vinicius Jr that would have smashed their all-time arrival record – currently £105 million, which they spent on Declan Rice in 2023 – and exceeded the £350,000-a-week contract given to Mesut Ozil in 2018.
But it looks like another Arsenal record in the transfer market – which has stood for almost a decade – is on the cusp of finally being broken.
Arsenal receive record-breaking bid for Gabriel Martinelli
According to journalist Florian Plettenberg in a post on X (formerly Twitter), Arsenal have received a new bid for Gabriel Martinelli from Galatasaray, with the Turkish giants looking to bring top-level talent to the Super Lig.
The North Londoners' current record sale stands at around £35m, set by Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain in 2017, after he left for Liverpool.
The Gunners have had success in recent seasons by selling homegrown talent to raise funds, with the likes of Joe Willock, Emile Smith Rowe, Eddie Nketiah, Folarin Balogun and even Emiliano Martinez all players that the Gunners sold for £20m or more for pure profit.
But though Martinelli isn't a Hale End academy product, Arsenal would see a steep profit on his services, having signed for just £6m from Ituano.
Plettenberg has confirmed that Gala's offer is worth €45m (around £38m) – though FourFourTwo understands that the Premier League champions want to hold out for around £50m for a player who they deem to be one of the more valuable in their squad.
The Brazilian is still just 25 years old – having signed for Arsenal as an 18-year-old – and though he only scored once in the Premier League last season, he recorded 11 goals in all competitions, including six in the Champions League, outscoring plenty of players on Arsenal's radar in the competition, including Bradley Barcola and Vinicius Jr.
The arrival of Christos Tzolis from Club Brugge will surely generate more competition on the left wing for the Gunners, who still want to bring in a marquee name on that flank.
Martinelli has been a huge success for Arsenal, scoring key goals for the club over his seven years, including a key equaliser against Manchester City in the title race last season, and strikes against each of the other so-called Big Six over his time in English football.
FourFourTwo understands that the Brazil star would prefer to play at a higher level than in Turkiye.
Martinelli is worth €45m, as per Transfermarkt. Arsenal play Coventry City when Premier League action begins again with the 2026/27 season opener.
