Roma Pursue Martinelli for Left-Sided Attack
Roma’s summer has a clear theme: give Gian Piero Gasperini the left-sided attacker his system demands, or risk starting a new cycle half-built.
The new coach wants a very specific profile. Right-footed, high-octane, stationed on the left but constantly driving inside. It’s a role that has powered his football for years, and at Trigoria they have spent most of the window trying to bolt that piece onto the squad.
Names have come and gone. Mason Greenwood, Antonio Nusa, Alejandro Garnacho – all floated, all studied, all, so far, out of reach. Talks, contacts, exploratory calls, but no handshake, no announcement, no solution.
So Roma have widened the lens. And now one name sits at the top of Tony D’Amico’s notebook: Gabriel Martinelli.
Martinelli, a talent at a crossroads
The 25-year-old Brazilian is approaching a delicate moment at Arsenal. He has entered the final 12 months of his contract at The Emirates, and there has been little noise about an imminent renewal. For a player of his age and profile, that silence is loud.
His situation has grown even more complicated with the arrival of Christos Tzolis. The Greek winger has walked straight into Mikel Arteta’s attacking rotation, and Martinelli has felt the ground shift under his feet. A guaranteed starter not long ago, he now looks more like an expendable asset in a squad brimming with wide options.
That is exactly where D’Amico sees an opening. Martinelli’s game – explosive runs from the left, sharp cuts inside, a direct route to goal – maps almost perfectly onto Gasperini’s blueprint. High intensity, vertical threat, a forward who can press and then punish in transition. On paper, it’s a marriage that makes sense.
The problem, as ever, is the bill.
A deal that bites into the budget
Roma might like the player, but Arsenal like the fee. According to Corriere dello Sport, the Premier League club are in no mood to sell at a discount just because the contract clock is ticking. Any serious offer, the report suggests, would need to land somewhere between €40 million and €45 million.
For Roma, that’s heavyweight money. It doesn’t stop there either. Martinelli’s wages would have to sit near the top of the Giallorossi’s salary structure, stretching a budget that is already being carefully managed under Gasperini’s rebuild.
So D’Amico is working on parallel tracks. Martinelli remains a priority target, a potential coup that would instantly raise the ceiling of the attack. But the club cannot afford to gamble everything on one complicated negotiation.
Mora, the younger route
That is where Rodrigo Mora comes in. The Porto talent has emerged as one of the main alternatives under discussion, a younger and likely more affordable solution who still ticks key tactical boxes.
Reports over the weekend indicated Roma are prepared to move decisively for the Portuguese club’s rising star, exploring an outright purchase rather than a loan with options and conditions. The thinking is clear: if Arsenal hold firm on price and wages for Martinelli, Roma still need to hand Gasperini a winger who can attack from the left with pace and personality.
Mora does not bring Martinelli’s Premier League experience or international status, but he offers upside, resale value and a profile that can be moulded. For a club trying to balance ambition with financial reality, that matters.
Galatasaray enter the frame
Roma are not alone in spotting the opportunity around Martinelli’s uncertain future. In Turkey, Galatasaray have already made their move.
Reports say the reigning champions have tabled a bid of around £34 million for the Brazilian, a figure that underlines how highly he is rated even after a dip in recent goal numbers. It is a statement offer, and a warning to any club hoping to wait Arsenal out.
If that bid is accepted or used as a benchmark, Roma’s room for manoeuvre shrinks. Matching or beating such a proposal, then building a competitive salary package on top, would represent a major financial swing for the Giallorossi.
So the clock is ticking on multiple fronts: Arsenal’s contract stand-off, Galatasaray’s push, Roma’s need to deliver Gasperini his left-sided spearhead.
For now, Martinelli sits at the heart of a three-way tug-of-war. The question for Roma is simple and brutal: do they stretch to land the ready-made star, or pivot fully towards the next one in Mora and reshape their project around a different kind of bet?
