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Arsenal are on track to close the summer transfer window with a trio of player sales that would collectively generate approximately $104 million (£77 million, €90 million).
Gabriel Martinelli is poised to move to Saudi Arabian club Al Hilal for the lion's share of that figure, while lower-value deals would send Gabriel Jesus to Barcelona and Fábio Vieira to Hamburg. All three players were considered peripheral to Mikel Arteta's plans for the upcoming season.
The Athletic reports that an agreement with Al Hilal over Martinelli's $81 million transfer fee is now "close" to being sealed. A separate report indicates that a permanent move for Vieira valued at roughly $11.6 million is similarly "close" to completion. Gabriel Jesus is expected to fetch a comparable sum.
Martinelli, who rejected advances from Galatasaray after being made aware he no longer has a future at the club, is set to shatter Arsenal's outgoing transfer record that has held for nine years.
No departure from the Emirates Stadium has ever commanded more than the $47.7 million (£35 million) Liverpool paid for Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain nearly a decade ago. In a market increasingly driven by player trading, Arsenal's inability to secure sizeable fees from sales had long been a glaring weakness — one that clubs like Liverpool and Manchester City have long since mastered.
Given how modest Barcelona's outlay for Jesus will be, some may argue the issue persists. However, the Brazilian has become increasingly injury-prone and is out of contract next summer. And while the Martinelli deal represents a massive profit given he arrived for a nominal fee as a little-known teenager from Brazil's lower divisions, Arsenal will absorb heavy losses on both Jesus and Vieira, each of whom was purchased for more than four times their current sale price.
Potential Arsenal Left-Wing Targets Increasingly Limited
Heading into this summer, Arsenal were determined to sign an elite left winger — a goal that remains unfulfilled. Christos Tzolis has made a strong impression as a starter in the opening weeks of the campaign, but he was signed specifically to upgrade Leandro Trossard. Martinelli's departure for a healthy fee both opens up a spot and reinforces the urgency for another wide addition.
Time is running short, with the transfer deadline arriving on Tuesday at 11 p.m. BST (6 p.m. ET). To make matters more pressing, the available options are dwindling.
The Gunners had targeted Morgan Rogers before he joined Chelsea to become the most expensive English player in history, then set their sights on Vinícius Júnior only for him to sign a new deal at Real Madrid. Bradley Barcola was also discussed, but he ultimately chose Liverpool.
Arsenal are only interested in players who, in the words of CEO Richard Garlick, can "change the dial" and elevate a squad already regarded as the finest in England and among the elite in Europe. The number of players capable of doing so is inherently limited — and has been further reduced by the rejections mentioned above.
Loose connections to Marcus Rashford continue to fade, and apparent interest in Kenan Yıldız has gone nowhere — particularly after the Juventus winger recently had surgery on a metatarsal injury expected to keep him sidelined for "a few months."
Arsenal could turn their attention to a younger option such as Malick Fofana, especially amid reports of financial difficulties potentially compelling Lyon to offload assets in order to raise funds and cut costs. That would represent more of a risk, however. The other option is to make no signing at all and deploy the versatile Eberechi Eze as a backup left winger, while keeping the promising Tzolis in the starting lineup for now.