There is a lot of interest in Arsenal forward Gabriel Martinelli, but the Gunners have a good chance of blocking the transfer as they plan to offer him a new contract.
That’s according to Fabrizio Romano in the latest edition of his exclusive CaughtOffside column, with the reporter responding to recent transfer rumours linking Martinelli as a possible target for Chelsea.
Martinelli has been a hugely impressive performer for Arsenal in recent times, with the Brazil international showing that he is undoubtedly one of the finest young talents in the Premier League.
This has led to some speculation that Arsenal’s rivals Chelsea could be eyeing him up, with the Daily Mail recently claiming they’ve been tracking the 21-year-old.
Romano admits that many top clubs are monitoring Martinelli, but Gooners will no doubt be pleased to hear that the club have long been planning to tie him down to a new contract.
Responding to the Martinelli rumours, Romano said: “Many top clubs are following Martinelli but I’m told Arsenal have been planning to offer him a new contract for long time.
“So, Arsenal have still a chance to keep Martinelli as he’s considered a top player for the future.”
Martinelli is surely an important part of Mikel Arteta’s long-term project, but it’s also easy to imagine he could do an important job at Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea have made a number of poor attacking signings in the last few years, with the likes of Christian Pulisic, Timo Werner, Kai Havertz and Hakim Ziyech not really living up to expectations.
Martinelli looks like he could well be an upgrade on those players, but it surely won’t be easy for the Blues to raid one of their biggest rivals for one of their most exciting young players.
Still, we have seen players move between these two clubs a few times in recent history, with Ashley Cole famously making the controversial move from Arsenal to Chelsea, while former Gunners captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is now on the books at Stamford Bridge.
Others such as Petr Cech, David Luiz and Willian have all moved from Chelsea to Arsenal in the last few years.