Arsenal fans have been treated to two seasons of brilliant Premier League football in a row now, and while they might have to wait a little while longer to see their team lift a major trophy, it's starting to feel like an inevitability.
In his four and a half years in north London, Mikel Arteta has changed the club from top to bottom and helped swap out the old guard for his current crop of young and hungry talents.
However, one of the jewels in the crown at the Emirates didn't join the club under Spaniard's management.
Instead, he put pen to paper for Unai Emery's team, and as of today, he's just as valuable as Cole Palmer.
Gabriel Martinelli's Arsenal career
Gabriel Martinelli is the star in question, and thanks to his incredible development over the last five years, his bargain £6m transfer from Brazilian fourth-tier side Ituano in 2019 has become a thing of legend among Arsenal supporters.
Despite being a complete unknown to fans in the Premier League, the Guarulhos-born ace had an incredible first season in north London. He scored ten goals and provided four assists in just 26 appearances while also dealing with a severe knee injury that saw him miss 40 games.
The injury was so severe that it took him some time to get back to his best.
Over the following two seasons, he scored eight goals and provided nine assists in 58 games, which would be a reasonable return for a player his age, even without his injury problems.
However, with a few years of English football under his belt, the right-footed winger exploded into life last season, scoring 15 goals and providing six assists in 46 appearances, meaning the "unplayable" sensation, as described by pundit Owen Hargreaves, was averaging a goal involvement every 1.85 games as a 21-year-old.
2019/20
26
10
4
0.53
2020/21
22
2
2
0.18
2021/22
36
6
7
0.36
2022/23
46
15
6
0.45
2023/24
43
8
5
0.30
Now, his output of eight goals and five assists in 43 appearances this season has undoubtedly been underwhelming in comparison, but considering he is still just 22 years old and clearly has bags and bags of talent, it's hard not to view his move to Arsenal as one of the best value-for-money transfers in recent history – and his soaring value just reinforces that perspective.
Gabriel Martinelli's valuation in 2024
According to the CIES Football Observatory, Martinelli is worth a whopping €100m today, which converts to around £86m, or £80m more than he cost the club five years ago.
Bukayo Saka
€200m (£171m)
Enzo Fernández
€100m (£86m)
Martin Odegaard
€150m (£128m)
Cole Palmer
€100m (£86m)
Gabriel Martinelli
€100m (£86m)
Nicolas Jackson
€80m (£69m)
Kai Havertz
€100m (£86m)
Axel Disasi
€80m (£69m)
Declan Rice
€100m (£86m)
Conor Gallagher
€80m (£69m)
Moreover, his current valuation also makes the young Brazilian the joint third most valuable player at the Emirates.
And if that wasn't enough, it also means he is worth just as much as Chelsea's new talisman, Palmer, whom CIES has also priced at €100m – £86m.
The Blues star cost the West Londoners £42.5m just eight months ago, but his sensational form this season has understandably seen his perceived value skyrocket.
In his 44 games for the Blues this season, the 22-year-old has racked up 22 goals and 14 assists, meaning he is averaging a goal involvement every 1.12 games, which is quite frankly ridiculous.
Appearances
44
Goals
25
Assists
14
Goal Involvements per Match
0.88
Ultimately, while Martinelli isn't having the season many were hoping he would this year, his talent is undeniable and the fact that he is still valued as highly as a player like Palmer should serve as encouragement to Arsenal fans that their Brazilian wonderkid will eventually get back to his best.
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