Arsenal just shattered a £50m transfer barrier that lasted far too long

Gabriel Martinelli is almost set to join Saudi Pro League team Al Hilal, after Arsenal verbally agreed to a deal to sell him for a package worth over €65m (£55.5m).

Now, all that is left for the deal to be complete is for Martinelli's camp to agree on personal terms with Al Hilal. Then we will be in the final stages of closing the deal.

While personal terms remain an obstacle, it is bound to be an incredibly easy obstacle. Martinelli is one of the most humble guys in football - he simply wants to play; anything else is a bonus.

Arsenal finally sell a player for over £50m!

If the deal finalises, then Arsenal will shatter their own transfer record. Currently, their most expensive sale remains Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, when he was sold to Liverpool for £35 million in 2017.

We are yet to understand the proper breakdown of Martinelli's fee. The consensus is that the verbal agreement is a package worth over £55m, but we don't know how much of it will be paid upfront and how much in add-ons. Nevertheless, it far outweighs Arsenal's current record.

In an age where players selling for close to or over £100m is the new norm in the Premier League, it is hard to believe that Arsenal have only just broken the £50m barrier themselves.

Arsenal are long-known to suck at selling players. They've done a much better job of it this summer but, boy have they undersold in the past.

In fairness, Arsenal have only gotten round to being good again. After the Ox was sold in 2017, they went through some painstaking years of being bad - oh, so so bad.

In this era of challenging (and winning!) trophies again, the last thing on Mikel Arteta's mind was selling players who were pivotal to the project. The players who weren't good enough obviously wouldn't have been sold for high fees.

Gabriel Martinelli is a sad, but necessary departure

Arsenal selling Martinelli is the right choice. He earned the right to bow out as a Premier League champion, and he will forever have a place in Arsenal fans' hearts.

As a £6m signing from Brazilian side Ituano (who will now receive 15-20% of any profit Arsenal makes), he more than exceeded his potential at Arsenal.

This guy scored goals at the Bernabéu, Stamford Bridge, and Anfield, to name just a few. He is a Premier League champion who made more league appearances than Robert Pires.

Arsenal took a gamble by signing Martinelli, and nobody expected him to do what he did. Now, we are rooting for his every success.

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