Arsenal seems to have their perfect team for the long term under Mikel Arteta. The gaffer might’ve taken time to put together a squad that matches his philosophy, but is now reaping the rewards of the patient approach.
One of the players to really benefit from his system is Gabriel Martinelli. The Brazilian winger, who arrived at the Emirates Stadium in 2019, had to persist with getting his place in the team. Initially, Martinelli was mostly used as a substitute by Arteta because the gaffer opted to use more experienced players in front of him.
But ever since the Spanish manager removed the older players from the team (from last season), the likes of Martinelli have thrived. The Brazilian winger has claimed a permanent role in the team this season, starting every single Premier League game so far this season.
Martinelli rewarded with a new contract for his heroics
In his 20 Premier League appearances for the Gunners this season, Martinelli has scored 7 goals and provided 2 assists. Seeing his impressive performances this season, Arsenal pushed hard to solidify his future with the club.
The 21-year-old winger definitely has his best years in front of him and that is why Arsenal worked to make him sign a new deal. Martinelli has signed a new four-year deal that keeps him at the Emirates Stadium. Speaking on the new deal, the winger said: “I feel amazing, I’m really happy in getting the new contract.
“I want to do my best for the team and for the fans as well, to give back to them and make them proud. I’ve said it many times, I love everything about Arsenal. I love the city, I love my teammates, I love the fans, I love the club and I’m going to try my best for this football club.”
How much salary will Martinelli receive?
The 21-year-old winger has been able to bag a formidable pay hike with the new contract. As per The Sun, he will now receive new wages of £ 180,000 a week- making him one of the highest-paid players at Arsenal.
That means he will receive yearly wages of around £8.16 million per year – making him the third-highest-paid player at Arsenal. Only Gabriel Jesus (£13.7m) and Thomas Partey (£10.4m) earn higher wages than him.
Martinelli has seen his wages reportedly doubled with the new deal as a reward for his impressive performances this season. The Gunners will be paying him these wages for the next four years and will hope their gamble pays off, as they hope Martinelli can lead them to major success over the near future.
Fans surprised by Martinelli wages
After doubling Martinelli’s salary with his latest contract, Arsenal have managed to surprise quite a few fans. The 21-year-old winger seems to have hit the jackpot, receiving a real fortune after enjoying an impressive campaign so far.
But fans have been left with mixed reactions to this. Some of the rival fans have drawn comparisons to Mykhaylo Mudryk – who is reportedly receiving £90,000-a-week wages at Chelsea after joining them over the Gunners in the January transfer window.
Incidentally, Mudryk was being eyed by Arsenal as a possible competition or alternative to Martinelli in the left-wing role. But Gooners seem to have a major fear of this, as they believe that it could give a bit of a handicap when it comes to future contract negotiations.
There is fear that Saka can now demand well over £ 300,000 a week after seeing Martinelli receive such high wages – with the Englishman definitely having a much higher value than his fellow winger.
The same fears are around Saliba too, with the French centre-back playing a major role in helping improve Arsenal’s defensive structure this season.
But going by how united the Arsenal squad has looked this season and the family-like atmosphere in the dressing room, there is unlikely to be a case of jealousy or greed that creeps in and attempts to disrupt all of that.
If not anything else, the majority of the Arsenal team will probably be delighted to see Martinelli get this new contract and hope he can grow into an even better player and help push them to win the Premier League title in May.