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Arsenal set to announce 1st summer signing after agreeing deal to sign £6m attacker

By on June 4, 2019

According to Football London. Arsenal have agreed terms over a £6m deal to sign Ituano forward Gabriel Martinelli and will announce the transfer when he turns 18 later this month.

Unai Emery is expected to overhaul his squad this summer following a disappointing first season in charge at the Emirates with the Gunners boss set to strengthen throughout his first team over the coming weeks.

However, it looks like Arsenal are also planning for the future as the club have been strongly tipped to sign Martinelli this summer with Yahoo Esportes reporting back in March that a verbal agreement had been found with the 17-year-old.

It seems the transfer is on the verge of completion as Football London are reporting that Arsenal have now agreed a £6m deal with Martinelli’s agent, Marcos Casseb, and we’ll officially confirm him as our first summer signing once he turns 18 later this month.

Martinelli is one of the most in-demand youngsters in Brazilian football after scoring 10 goals in 31 games for Ituano this year and he’s the youngest player to ever represent their first team having made his debut aged just 16.

The South American forward won’t need a work permit as he’s been granted an Italian passport so there is nothing left to prevent this proposed deal from going through smoothly – unless either party has a last minute change of heart.

It’s unlikely Martinelli will feature heavily in the first team next season as he’ll need some time to adjust to life in England but he’s a huge talent and it’s a real coup from Arsenal to win the race for his signature as he’s attracted interest from several top clubs.

As long as the deal is wrapped-up later this month as expected, Martinelli could play in our first pre-season friendly at Boreham Wood in early July and if he does well, he may earn a place in the squad for our pre-season tour of the US.

Interestingly, Football London claims that Edu worked closely with Arsenal’s Head of International Recruitment, Francis Cagigao, to get this deal agreed so it looks like the former midfielder is already getting to grips with his role as Technical Director before he’s even been formally announced.