Arsenal have every right to decide Gabriel Martinelli is no longer good enough for where Mikel Arteta wants to take them. The more uncomfortable question is how they handle that decision.
James McNicholas reports that Arsenal are hoping to sell Martinelli and have welcomed offers for the Brazilian, despite the 25-year-old not being directly informed that the club want him to leave.
For a manager who has built so much of Arsenal’s success around togetherness, that creates a risk which goes beyond one transfer.
Gabriel Martinelli Arsenal decision makes football sense
There is a perfectly reasonable sporting argument for moving Martinelli on.
His Premier League production collapsed last season. Thirty appearances brought only one league goal, even though his record in knockout competition remained considerably stronger.
His contract also creates pressure.
Martinelli’s current deal expires next summer, although Arsenal possess an option to extend it by another year. There have been no talks over a new agreement, leaving the club approaching the point where his transfer value becomes increasingly difficult to protect.
Galatasaray have already offered €45million, around £38.4m, but Martinelli has made clear he does not want to move to Turkey.
ReadArsenal reported on Tuesday that talks between Arsenal and Galatasaray were principally centred on Martinelli, rather than the widely reported possibility of Victor Osimhen moving in the opposite direction.
Selling Martinelli therefore cannot simply be treated as removing an unwanted squad player.
Arsenal need a buyer that satisfies them financially and a destination Martinelli actually wants.
Christos Tzolis has changed Martinelli’s position
Arteta also has more reason to contemplate life without Martinelli than he did 12 months ago.
Christos Tzolis has made an immediate impact following his £34m arrival, including two assists during Arsenal’s Community Shield victory over Manchester City.
Martinelli, meanwhile, did not make the Community Shield matchday squad.
None of that makes him a poor player. It does suggest the pathway to regular football on Arsenal’s left has become considerably narrower.
Arteta has made these decisions before.
Aaron Ramsdale and Emile Smith Rowe were popular members of the squad, but sentiment did not prevent Arsenal from moving forward when the manager believed better options were available.
Martinelli could be next.
Arsenal cannot let ruthlessness become coldness
The bigger question concerns how Arsenal reach that conclusion.
The Athletic reports that Martinelli has not been directly told Arsenal hope to sell him, despite the club already welcoming offers.
Clubs explore markets without notifying players all the time. Arsenal are under no obligation to seek Martinelli’s permission before discovering what buyers might pay.
But seven years of service changes the human element.
Martinelli joined Arsenal before Arteta had transformed them into champions. He remained through the rebuild and spoke emotionally about the club becoming a family after last season’s title triumph.
If Arsenal have genuinely decided his time is over, telling him clearly would not weaken their negotiating position.
It could strengthen the culture Arteta has worked so hard to create.
Elite clubs have to become ruthless as the margins become smaller. Arsenal have reached the point where good players can become expendable simply because somebody better might become available.
That is progress.
But there is a difference between ruthlessness and making a loyal player discover his future through the transfer market.
Arsenal can move beyond Martinelli without losing the standards that helped them reach the top.
How they handle the next two weeks may reveal whether they understand that distinction.
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