Chelsea ‘monitor’ Arsenal star as rivals ‘glance admiringly’ at attacker out of contract in 2025 | OneFootball

Chelsea are reportedly among the Premier League clubs who are currently ‘glancing admiringly’ at Arsenal attacker Gabriel Martinelli.

The Gunners got themselves a bargain in 2019 when they signed Martinelli for around £6m from Brazilian side Ituano.

The forward’s progress was hampered in 2020 as he suffered a serious knee injury. He has not let that get to him too much, though.

Martinelli has proven in recent seasons that he is one hell of a talent as he has gone from strength to strength in an Arsenal shirt.

Man Utd legend Paul Scholes has suggested that the Arsenal man “has been a breath of fresh air”:

“He’s great,” Scholes told Premier League Productions. “I really like him. He’s got pace. He has got a goal in him, which is probably the most important thing for that position.

“He has been a breath of fresh air, along with Jesus coming in. It’s probably taken a little bit of pressure off him because as a young lad, he is expected to score a lot of goals.

“But with Jesus coming in, that seems to have taken the pressure of Martinelli and he is flourishing.”

Martinelli grabbed six goals and six assists last term as Arsenal narrowly missed out on the top four.

The 21-year-old has also made a great start to this campaign, as he has been involved in four goals in eight games.

He is out of contract in 2025, while Bukayo Saka and William Saliba’s deals expire in 2024.

The Athletic’s David Ornstein has revealed that it is a “priority” for Arsenal to tie Martinelli, Saka, and Saliba down to new deals:

“One thing I might add is the priority for Arsenal in terms of contracts is Bukayo Saka. There are others who they’re going to be thinking about as well, like Gabriel Martinelli,” Ornstein stated on the Vibe with Five YouTube channel.

“So Saliba will of course come into that mix, but in the scale of priorities, his trajectory is relatively new compared to others that they want to tie down.”

Martinelli was one of the Arsenal players who performed superbly in the 3-1 victory over Tottenham over the weekend.

It was only a matter of time before rivals expressed an interest in Martinelli and The Daily Mail are reporting that this is on its way.

Chelsea are named in the report as a club eyeing a move for the starlet as they are ‘monitoring’ his situation at the Emirates.

They are not alone in that, though. The report also states that ‘there have been admiring glances at Martinelli’, with Chelsea only ‘among the clubs’.

Arsenal are currently looking well-positioned to qualify for the Champions League this term. And this is needed to keep the likes of Martinelli, Saka and Saliba at the club long-term.