Gabriel Martinelli Bio: Age, Career, Stats and Honours

Gabriel Martinelli is a Brazilian forward and left winger who plays for Al-Hilal in Saudi Arabia. Born on 18 June 2001, he is 25 as of November 2026, and he joined Al-Hilal from Arsenal on 3 September 2026 on a four-year contract, after seven seasons in London in which he won the FA Cup, the Community Shield and the 2025/26 Premier League.

This guide replaces our earlier version, which still described him as an 18-year-old Arsenal prospect. It covers his path from Corinthians and Ituano to the Premier League, his record for Brazil (including the 2020 Olympic gold and two World Cups), his season-by-season numbers, how he plays and what is publicly known about his private life. The figures come mainly from English Wikipedia, the club and national-team records it cites, and press coverage of the Al-Hilal transfer, and they are dated as of November 2026.

Who is Gabriel Martinelli? Quick facts

Full name: Gabriel Teodoro Martinelli Silva.
Born: 18 June 2001 in Guarulhos, São Paulo state, Brazil. Age: 25 as of November 2026.
Nationality: Brazilian. English Wikipedia says he also holds Italian citizenship through his father's family.
Position: left winger or forward.
Height: listed at 1.78 m by English Wikipedia.
Club in 2026/27: Al-Hilal (Saudi Pro League), since 3 September 2026, contract of four years.
Previous clubs: Ituano (2018 and 2019), Arsenal (2019 to 2026).
National team: Brazil, 27 caps and 5 goals as of November 2026 according to English Wikipedia.
Instagram: @gabriel.martinelli, about 5 million followers on the embed page we checked in November 2026.

Gabriel Martinelli in an Arsenal shirt in a Premier League match, raising a gloved hand

Early life, parents and origin

Martinelli was born and raised in Guarulhos, a large city in the São Paulo metropolitan area. English Wikipedia says he started out in the futsal team of Corinthians, one of the biggest clubs in São Paulo, in 2010. He then continued his development at Ituano, a club from the interior of São Paulo state. The sources disagree on the exact year he joined Ituano (2014 in the infobox, 2015 in the article text), so we only say that it happened in the mid-2010s.

In a first-person essay for The Players' Tribune (November 2022), Martinelli introduces his parents: his father, João, and his mother, Elizabete. His father had wanted to become a professional footballer himself and took him to a trial at Corinthians when he turned six; his mother wanted him to go to college as a plan B. The family shared a one-bedroom home in Guarulhos, and when Gabriel was 14 his father got a new job in Itu, which is why he left Corinthians for Ituano. His Italian descent is on his father's side, according to English Wikipedia. We could not find a reliable source on any siblings, and we removed older claims about his parents' jobs and income that only appeared on copy-paste biography sites.

Gabriel Martinelli smiling with his arms around two adults seated at a table

Career timeline

Ituano (2018 and 2019)

4 November 2017: signs his first professional contract with Ituano, running to October 2022.
17 March 2018: makes his senior debut as a late substitute in a 2-1 away win over São Bento in the Campeonato Paulista, aged 16 years and nine months.
2018: 17 Copa Paulista appearances and four goals, plus three state league appearances without a goal.
2019: 14 state league appearances and six goals. He finished his time at the club with 34 appearances and 10 goals, according to English Wikipedia.
Honours: Campeonato Paulista Young Player of the Year and Team of the Year, both in 2019.

Gabriel Martinelli celebrating in the red and black Ituano shirt with a finger pointing to the sky

Arsenal (2019 to 2026)

2 July 2019: joins Arsenal from Ituano for a reported £6 million. Because he held an Italian passport, he avoided the work-permit criteria that applied to other South American signings.
11 August 2019: Premier League debut, an 84th-minute substitute appearance in a 1-0 win over Newcastle United.
24 September 2019: first competitive start, a 5-0 EFL Cup win over Nottingham Forest in which he scored twice. In October 2019 he won Arsenal's Player of the Month award with 75 percent of the vote.
2019/20: 26 appearances and 10 goals in all competitions, and the FA Cup, his first trophy with the club. Jürgen Klopp, then Liverpool manager, called him the "talent of the century" after this early form. Klopp's wife has her own profile in our guide to Ulla Sandrock.
2022/23: his best goal return for Arsenal, 15 goals in 46 appearances.
2023: wins the Community Shield and, in February, signs a new contract to 2027.
September 2025: named Arsenal Player of the Month again and wins the BBC Goal of the Month award, according to English Wikipedia.
2025/26: Arsenal win the Premier League for the first time since 2003/04. Martinelli makes 53 appearances and scores 11 goals, including a hat-trick in a 4-1 FA Cup win at Portsmouth on 11 January 2026. Arsenal lose the League Cup final to Manchester City on 22 March 2026 and the Champions League final to Paris Saint-Germain on penalties on 30 May 2026.
3 September 2026: leaves for Al-Hilal. The fee was reported at £60 million, described as the highest Arsenal have received for a player. He departed with 278 appearances and 62 goals for the club, 191 appearances and 41 goals of them in the Premier League.

Gabriel Martinelli dribbling the ball in an Arsenal home shirt during a match

Al-Hilal (since September 2026)

Martinelli made his Al-Hilal debut the day after signing, as a substitute in a 2-0 away win over Al Shabab. On 12 September 2026 he scored his first hat-trick for the club in a 6-0 win at Al Taawoun. According to English Wikipedia he had six goals in six Saudi Pro League games, and eight appearances with six goals in all competitions in 2026/27, as of late October 2026. Those numbers change every week, so check a live stats page for the latest count.

Playing style

Martinelli first played in central positions, like a classic number 9, but under Mikel Arteta at Arsenal he was moved to the left wing, where he can cut inside onto his stronger right foot and use his quick dribbling, according to English Wikipedia. It describes him as a dynamic and explosive wide forward known for his acceleration, speed and defensive intensity. In practice that means a winger who is most dangerous when he can run at defenders or into space, and who contributes without the ball as well. His season-by-season numbers are in the stats section below.

Brazil national team

Choosing Brazil: he holds Brazilian and Italian citizenship, and chose Brazil. He played seven games and scored one goal for the Brazil under-23 team in 2019 and 2020.
Olympic gold, 2021: he was named in the squad for the 2020 Summer Olympics (played in 2021) on 2 July 2021. He scored Brazil's second penalty in the shoot-out win over Mexico in the semi-final on 3 August, and Brazil beat Spain in the final four days later to win gold.
Senior debut: March 2022, as a substitute for Vinícius Júnior in a 4-0 win over Chile at the Maracanã.
2022 World Cup: named in the squad on 7 November 2022. He came on for Raphinha in the 87th minute of the 2-0 win over Serbia, played the full 1-0 defeat to Cameroon, and came on as a substitute in the 4-1 round-of-16 win over South Korea. He was not used in the quarter-final, which Brazil lost 4-2 on penalties to Croatia after a 1-1 draw.
International goals (5 as of November 2026): Colombia (16 November 2023, 2-1 defeat in World Cup qualifying), Mexico (8 June 2024, 3-2 friendly win), Japan (14 October 2025, 3-2 friendly defeat), Croatia (31 March 2026, 3-1 friendly win) and Japan again in the World Cup.
2026 World Cup: named in Carlo Ancelotti's squad on 18 May 2026. In the round of 32 on 29 June in Houston, his last-minute goal gave Brazil a 2-1 win over Japan. Brazil then lost 2-1 to Norway in the round of 16 on 5 July.

Gabriel Martinelli in a yellow Brazil shirt kissing his Olympic gold medal in a changing room

His Brazil team-mates in this period include Raphinha and Bruno Guimarães, who joined Arsenal in August 2026, a few weeks before Martinelli left.

Stats by season at Arsenal

All competitions, as listed by English Wikipedia in November 2026:

2019/20: 26 appearances, 10 goals.
2020/21: 22 appearances, 2 goals.
2021/22: 36 appearances, 6 goals.
2022/23: 46 appearances, 15 goals.
2023/24: 44 appearances, 8 goals.
2024/25: 51 appearances, 10 goals.
2025/26: 53 appearances, 11 goals.
Total: 278 appearances and 62 goals. Those season rows add up to that total. The page also lists one separate Arsenal under-21 appearance in 2020/21.

Honours and awards

Arsenal: Premier League (2025/26), FA Cup (2019/20), FA Community Shield (2023). Runner-up in the League Cup and the Champions League (both 2025/26).
Brazil: Olympic gold medal (2020 Games, played in 2021).
Individual: Campeonato Paulista Young Player of the Year and Team of the Year (2019), Arsenal Player of the Month (October 2019 and September 2025), BBC Goal of the Month (September 2025).

Net worth and salary

Earlier versions of this page listed a net worth, a weekly wage and body measurements. Those numbers came from estimate sites, not from the clubs or the player, so we removed them. We are not repeating wage figures from the Al-Hilal move either, because neither club has confirmed them. The only money figure we state is the reported £60 million fee, which several outlets carried.

Martinelli's main account is @gabriel.martinelli on Instagram, with about 5 million followers on the embed page we checked in November 2026.

Private life

Martinelli married Isabella Rousso, a Brazilian doctor from Rio de Janeiro, on 26 July 2026 in a small ceremony in Santorini, Greece, according to Brazilian press. They had been together since 2021 and announced their engagement in March 2025 after he proposed in London. Read the full story in our guide to Isabella Rousso, Gabriel Martinelli's wife. A second celebration in Brazil is reported for 2027.

A couple kissing on Westminster Bridge at night, the London Eye lit up behind them

For other Brazil and Premier League couples, see Bukayo Saka's fiancée Tolami Benson.

FAQ

How old is Gabriel Martinelli?

He was born on 18 June 2001, so he is 25 as of November 2026.

Where does Gabriel Martinelli play now?

He plays for Al-Hilal in Saudi Arabia, which he joined from Arsenal on 3 September 2026 on a four-year contract.

How much did Al-Hilal pay for Martinelli?

The fee was reported at £60 million, the highest sum Arsenal have received for a player.

Where is Gabriel Martinelli from?

He was born in Guarulhos, in the state of São Paulo, Brazil. He is Brazilian, with Italian citizenship through his father's family.

Who are Gabriel Martinelli's parents?\n\nHis father is João and his mother is Elizabete, as he wrote in The Players' Tribune in 2022. His father, who had hoped to play professionally, took him to his first trial at Corinthians, and his Italian descent comes from his father's side.\n\n### Did Martinelli win the Olympics?

Yes. He won gold with Brazil at the 2020 Games, held in 2021, beating Spain in the final.

How many goals did Martinelli score for Arsenal?

62 goals in 278 appearances in all competitions, according to English Wikipedia.

Did Martinelli play at the World Cup?

Yes, in 2022 (three appearances, two of them as a substitute) and in 2026, when he scored the winner against Japan in the round of 32.

Is Gabriel Martinelli married?

Yes. He married Isabella Rousso on 26 July 2026.

Who said Martinelli was the "talent of the century"?

Jürgen Klopp, then Liverpool manager, said it after Martinelli's early Arsenal form in 2019.

Sources include English Wikipedia (club and national-team records), press coverage of the Al-Hilal transfer and Brazilian outlets cited in our Isabella Rousso article; facts as of November 2026.