Arsenal: £23m for Gabriel Martinelli the ultimate joke

Gabriel Martinelli is one of the most valuable youngsters in the world, but the Arsenal man isn’t among the best, according to the CIES Football Observatory.

Gabriel Martinelli has been an absolute sensation for Arsenal in his first year at the club. Having just come from Brazil, he’s managed 10 goals and four assists in 26 appearances. That’s one hell of a return considering a chunk of those appearances are coming off the bench.

It would easily place him among the youth elite of the world, and many lists already do, alongside Bukayo Saka. These aren’t your typical young guns. They are something special. They’ve already made a huge impact on the top flight and they’re still teenagers.

But according to the CIES Football Observatory, Martinelli is not among the best in the world. In fact, his monetary value is just a pallid £23m.

Sure, we paid a fraction of that for him, so it could still be seen as a dramatic success. But if the Gunners were to sell Martinelli right now for £23m, they would be the clowns of the world stage. Absolute buffoons.

This valuation is completely bonkers.

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With a name like the CIES Football Observatory, I’d expect some smart, sensible results. Not the case here. Especially when you start seeing what other players got valued at. Jadon Sancho topped the list at £184m. I won’t argue that Sancho should top the list, but is Martinelli really just 12% of the player that Sancho is?

Meanwhile, Mason Greenwood, who has 12 goals this year (remember, Martinelli is right there with him) is worth £47m. So Martinelli is half the player Greenwood is. Alright.

Moise Kean is worth £43m for God’s sake, and he’s got one whole goal this year.

Martinelli is 21st on the list! This incredibly talented, goal-producing young man is 21st on the list of highest monetary value among youngsters. If that isn’t ridiculousness of the highest order, I don’t know what is. He’s been an absolute sensation this year and has the statistical evidence to prove it, yet some “Observatory” can’t even fit him in a Top 20 that includes Moise Kean.

The only Arsenal player to crack the list was William Saliba, who ranked in right at £25m, conveniently less than what Arsenal paid for him.

Then again, Bukayo Saka wasn’t even in the top 50. Which is the only argument I need that this entire case study is the true clown of the world stage. Absolute buffoons.