Deal agreed: Arsenal set to announce signing of South American on 5-year deal

Managers are working hard trying to strengthen their squads during the summer transfer window so we’ll bring you all the latest news and gossip from around the globe. Today, Arsenal are set to announce the signing of Gabriel Martinelli….

Arsenal are set to announce the signing of Gabriel Martinelli on a five-year contract with the young attacker arriving from Ituano in a £6m deal, according to reports in Brazil via the Daily Star.

Martinelli is one of the hottest young talents in South American football and made his debut for Ituano aged just 16 after joining the club from Corinthians having come through their youth ranks.

The exciting forward has provided 10 goals and 6 assists in his 31 appearances for Ituano and his huge potential alerted a number of top clubs throughout Europe with Barcelona and Manchester United previously linked, according to the Daily Star.

Arsenal emerged as front-runners for his signature with Football London reporting earlier this month that we had agreed a £6m deal to sign Martinelli this summer and the transfer was expected to be formally announced when the teenager turned 18 on 18th June.

Now that Martinelli has reached his milestone birthday, the Daily Star are citing a report from Globo Esporte that claims Arsenal are set to unveil the pacey attacker as our first major signing of the summer window.

Negotiations have been on-going since last year and the Brazilian outlet says Martinelli has agreed a five-year contract at the Emirates Stadium with the move expected to be officially confirmed over the coming days.

Unai Emery is working on a tight budget this summer after we failed to qualify for the Champions League and he needs to strengthen throughout the squad with a new right-back, centre-back, central midfielder and wide forward all needed.

However, it looks like the club have decided to use £6m of our transfer kitty to buy Martinelli and it’s something of a coup as he was being chased by several big clubs. The likelihood is the teenager star is viewed as a replacement to Danny Welbeck – who’s leaving Arsenal when his contract expires this month – as he’s able to play out wide or up front.

READ MORE –> Arsenal transfer news

Martinelli won’t require a work permit as he holds an Italian passport through his father and the winger will be hoping to play some part in our pre-season friendlies once he is officially unveiled as an Arsenal player.