Arsenal cash in on Martinelli, Jesus and Vieira as Alvarez pursuit ends in a "no"
Arsenal have agreed to sell Gabriel Martinelli, Gabriel Jesus and Fábio Vieira in deals worth more than £70m combined, while their pursuit of Atlético Madrid's Julián Álvarez collapsed because the striker wants only Barcelona (The Guardian).
The biggest outgoing is Martinelli, expected to join Saudi Arabia's Al-Hilal for £56m — a club-record sale for Arsenal, surpassing the £40m Liverpool paid for Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain in 2017. The Brazilian winger was left out of Arsenal's opening-day squad against Coventry and was due to undergo a medical on Monday. His 2025-26 season told a curious story: six goals in the Champions League but only one in the Premier League. That domestic return, for a club with title ambitions, made him expendable.
Gabriel Jesus is heading to Atlético Madrid for £8.6m, a modest fee reflecting his circumstances. The 28-year-old entered the final year of his Arsenal contract after dropping behind Kai Havertz and Viktor Gyökeres — a Sweden international Arsenal signed to lead the line — in the pecking order. Fábio Vieira, who spent last season on loan at Hamburg, looked poised to rejoin the German club permanently for another £8.6m.
The money was meant to fund a marquee arrival. Mikel Arteta spoke to Álvarez last week, attempting to persuade the former Manchester City forward to return to English football. He was told Álvarez wants only Barcelona (The Guardian).
That response is the latest twist in a summer-long saga. Álvarez told Atlético he wanted to leave back in June, sparking interest across Europe. Barcelona made him their top target, but Atlético's chief executive, Miguel Ángel Gil Marín, insisted the Argentine would "never, ever" be sold to the Catalan club and accused Barcelona of "dishonesty" (The Guardian). Atlético even rejected a €150m (£129.4m) offer from Real Madrid and reportedly consider Arsenal the only acceptable destination (Sky Sports).
Álvarez returned to training on Sunday after being left out of Atlético's squad for their win over Sevilla. Manager Diego Simeone has vowed to welcome him back. The player's contract runs until 2030 with a buyout clause — the fee a club must pay to sign him against his team's will — of €500m. Barcelona, who sold Ferran Torres to Paris Saint-Germain and want another attacker, have not given up.
Arsenal, meanwhile, have shopped widely and come up short elsewhere. They failed in an ambitious attempt to sign Vinicius Junior, who extended his Real Madrid contract to 2032. Morgan Rogers joined Chelsea. Everton's Iliman Ndiaye was on Arsenal's shortlist, but Tottenham were in advanced talks over a £60m deal. Arsenal did sign Christos Tzolis to replace Leandro Trossard on the left flank and have opened talks with Bayer Leverkusen over defender Jarell Quansah (The Guardian).
The window closes with Arsenal lighter up front and still searching. Three forwards gone, the money banked, and the one striker they wanted standing in a Madrid training ground, dreaming of Barcelona.
