Does Gabriel Martinelli’s Future Lie At Arsenal?

Gabriel Martinelli has missed a few games for Arsenal as of late due to a hamstring issue. He has returned to the squad now, but in his absence, many Arsenal fans have been discussing the possibility of letting him leave the club to make way for new players on the left hand side of the attack. It has been no secret that the Gunners have been interested in Nico Williams for some time, but in order to bring him in, they would need to free up some funds. As he would be bought as a replacement to Martinelli, the obvious sale would be that of the Brazilian. But where could he go?

A Desire To Prove Himself

Martinelli arrived at Arsenal with a passion for the game, pace, and dynamism down the middle, which Arsenal fans believe is clearly his best position. Why Mikel Arteta doesn’t play him there is known only by him, however it could be down to Martinelli’s ability to track back and defend, something that would be wasted if he played as a number 9.

Fair play to Gabriel Martinelli. Looking more like his 22/23 self. A constant threat. pic.twitter.com/msDBg3KUwN

— Bhavs (@bhavss14) March 16, 2025

Martinelli’s desire to prove himself is clearly still there, but if he isn’t able to do that at Arsenal then he himself might want to move away. Teams such as AC Milan, Bayer Leverkusen or Juventus might be a good fit for him, as he gets to play at the top level, in Europe and in the league, but still makes it into the first XI.

AC Milan

Recently, a lot of Serie A clubs have been picking up Premier League players who are no longer suited to their English club. Napoli have bought Scott McTominay, Bill Gilmour and Philip Billing, Juventus have bought Lloyd Kelly and AC Milan have Kyle Walker. Milan have quite a few attacking options, so he would have to work hard to prove himself in that team, but that is exactly what he looks like he wants to do.

Rafael Leao is the current starting left winger, with Joao Felix often replacing him from the bench in the second half. Leao has had a disappointing season this year, much like Martinelli, and he could move on from his club this summer soon, opening the door to the potential of signing Martinelli. Both players have scored just six times in the league this campaign, however Martinelli is two years younger than Leao, so it could be a good bit of business for Milan.

Bayer Leverkusen

The way Leverkusen set up is very different to Arsenal, however they have shown an interest in buying Jadon Sancho in the summer, so another option could be Martinelli, should he want to leave the Gunners. Sancho hasn’t performed well since he left the Bundesliga in 2021 and he is certainly not going to stay at Manchester United or Chelsea beyond the end of this season, so Leverkusen could end up with his signature, however he has made it clear that he wants to return to Borussia Dortmund.

According to @GiveMeSport, Bayer Leverkusen and Borussia Dortmund are monitoring Jadon Sancho's situation ahead of an opportunistic offer in the summer.

Even though Chelsea have agreed to sign Sancho permanently from United at the end of the season, there remains a possibility… pic.twitter.com/6h98SbqCet

— WerkselfXtra (@bayer04Xtra) March 23, 2025

Where Martinelli would fit in at Leverkusen is uncertain, however if they want Sancho, then I’m sure they would also be admirers of the Brazilian. With Florian Wirtz’s future up in the air, they could see themselves with a lot of money to spend in the summer, so getting a 23 year old Martinelli for around £50m would be quite an impressive buy. Whether or not Arsenal would let him go for that much is uncertain, as he has two years left on his contract with the option of extending it a further 12 months.

Juventus

Juventus are a real mess right now. With Thiago Motta having been sacked during the international break, former Marseille and Lazio coach Igor Tudor will take over for the rest of the season. What will happen in the summer is still yet to be seen, but Luis Enrique and Sergio Conceicao’s name are both floating around the vacant position.

Juventus’ current left winger is Nico Gonzalez, however he has not been performing well this season, with just one goal in the league since joining from Fiorentina in the summer. Their other option is Francisco Conceicao, however he prefers to play on the right, and is only at the club on loan this season. He has only scored three times in the league in this campaign, so the deal with Porto might not be made permanent in the summer.

Will Martinelli Stay At Arsenal?

There is always the possibility that Martinelli will stay at Arsenal. He is still just 23 years old, and is highly rated by Arteta. Leandro Trossard hasn’t had his best season at Arsenal either, and he is a lot older than the Brazilian, so it could be him axed from the squad in the summer. He would fetch a much lower fee than Martinelli, but could be seen as less essential to the team.

Should the Gunners get a new left winger in the summer, Martinelli might have to accept his role as an impact player, with the opportunity to prove himself to the Arsenal faithful all over again. There is also the possibility that he plays down the middle next season, but once again Arsenal are looking to buy a new player in that position also, so he could spend all of the 2025/26 campaign as a bench player for the Gunners.

What the future holds is entirely up to Martinelli. If his desire to play first team football, then Arteta wouldn’t stand in the way of a move away from the Emirates, however if he wants to fight for his place at Arsenal, then he needs to be prepared for long periods on the bench.