Arsenal have taken another step towards rebuilding the club by securing the services of highly-rated Gabriel Martinelli for at least another four years.
Signed out of the blue in July 2019, the Brazilian has lit up the Emirates in his debut season, netting on 10 occasions despite the limited playing time.
Whether it was under Emery or Arteta, the 19-year-old shone every time he was given the chance, and his performances have been rewarded with a new long-term contract.
Martinelli has put pen to paper on a new four-year deal, with the club having an option to extend it for a further year should they choose to later down the line.
As well as the backing of his coach, the board and the fanbase, Martinelli will also earn himself a significant pay rise and added incentives based on performances of himself and the team.
At such a young age, the winger has been a revelation and is at the forefront of a young Arsenal core that is ready to support Mikel Arteta’s revival of the club.
After tying down Bukayo Saka to a four-year contract extension earlier this week, the board are making serious indications of their intent to back the new manager, especially under such testing financial times.
The double signing is a huge boost for Arsenal fans, who have taken a huge liking to the teenage pair following a season where they have all but cemented a place in every match-day squad.
Martinelli is currently ruled out for the rest of the season and is likely to miss a good chunk of the 2020/21 campaign when it does eventually get going.
However, just knowing that we won’t face a bidding war for two of our prized assets this summer is a welcome sigh of relief, allowing the board to now focus on recruiting some key additions from afar and offloading some of the players currently eating into the wage budget.
The future of Henrikh Mkhitaryan has already been taken care of, with the Armenian agreeing to terminate his contract with the Gunners once his loan spell is up at Roma.
We then look to the likes of Mesut Ozil and Alexandre Lacazette, two players who bank themselves nearly £500k per week between them. Ozil’s absence from the last four match-day squads and Lacazette’s poor run of form speak for themselves.