Gabriel Martinelli leaves Arsenal for Saudi Arabian club Al-Hilal in £60m deal

Arsenal have confirmed Gabriel Martinelli has joined the Saudi Arabian side Al-Hilal for £60m. It is understood the deal for Brazil forward includes a sell-on clause.

Martinelli, who joined Arsenal from Ituano in 2019, has fallen down the pecking order at the Emirates despite being part of the squad that won the Premier League title last season. His fee surpasses the previous record £40m received by Arsenal when they sold Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain to Liverpool in 2017.

Martinelli is believed to have signed a four-year contract worth about £17m a season. His move was widely expected after Arsenal agreed a deal last week and has gone through before the transfer window in Saudi Arabia closes on Sunday.

The 25-year-old joins his Brazil teammate Gabriel Jesus in leaving Arsenal this week, the striker having moved to Barcelona for £8.6m. The Premier League champions also sold Fábio Vieira to Hamburg on deadline day but decided against bringing in players.

Arsenal are believed to have received about £3m from Brook Norton-Cuffy’s £14m move from Genoa to Hull owing to a sell-on clause in the England Under-21 defender’s contract but missed out on about £7m when Folarin Balogun move to Everton collapsed.

Tottenham have omitted Richarlison from their Premier League squad, with the striker not a part of their plans for the season. They could have accommodated him for the first-half of the campaign because one of their 17 senior non-homegrown players – Xavi Simons – is out until March or April, according to the manager, Roberto Di Zerbi, with an anterior cruciate ligament injury.

Spurs made clear to Richarlison before the closure of the transfer window in England on Tuesday night that he would not be included so he could arrange a move. He was unable to do so, with one to his former club, Everton, not happening. He is the subject of firm interest from Trabzonspor in Turkey, where the window remains open until Friday night.

Richarlison posted a message on social media on Monday in which he said he would not allow anybody to decide his future for him. He talked about his commitment to Spurs; how “when everything here was falling apart and they needed me, I stayed and gave my life”.

Richarlison was Spurs’ top scorer in the league last season with 11 goals. He also said: “So I hope they treat my situation with the same respect that I’ve always had for the Spurs and for all the people who worked with me during this period. Just don’t try to decide for me.”