Gabriel Martinelli followed Bukayo Saka’s lead and signed a new deal with the club in July, with reports suggesting it could take him to 2025.

The Times initially reported that Arsenal were expecting Gabriel Martinelli to commit to a new deal, underlining their commitment to youth after the extension for Bukayo Saka.

It didn’t take long for Arsenal to confirm the contract, posting about his new ‘long-term’ deal.

Martinelli, of course, was already under contract with the club for the long term. He only joined the club in the summer of 2019, and depending on which source you believe, he either had a contract to 2023 or 2024.

The new deal reportedly takes him to 2024 with a club option to extend to 2025. At the time, that was actually the longest contract any player at Arsenal was on.

There were reasons for both sides to want to extend. Given Saka is so young, Arsenal will happily tie him down for as long as possible. For Martinelli, it’s a chance to boost his wages.

No one really predicted how quickly he would make it as a first-team regular, so his previous wages reflected that. Reports earlier last year suggested he was only earning £10,000-a-week.