Bayern Munich strongly tipped to preserve interest in Arsenal forward by German insider

Arsenal forward Gabriel Martinelli remains on the wish list of Bayern Munich, it has been revealed, as his battle with Eberechi Eze for the left-wing role continues to unfold at the Emirates Stadium.

Martinelli’s future will be a topic to keep an eye on ahead of the transfer windows in 2026. Arsenal kept hold of him in the summer in the face of interest from Bayern, but wanted to find an upgrade on the left wing and completed the signing of Eze from Crystal Palace.

Like Leandro Trossard, Martinelli now faces a fight to keep his place in Arsenal’s long-term plans – although he may be able to count on high-profile interest from elsewhere.

According to self-styled Bayern insider Christian Falk, Martinelli is still someone admired by the Bundesliga champions as a long-term target.

“Bayern were interested in Martinelli in the last summer window, this is true,” Falk explained on Caught Offside.

“Indeed, he was a topic on a long, long list – certainly considerably lower on the list than Nico Williams and Jamie Gittens.

“However, they didn’t get either of the two, so they had ideas about new players and Martinelli indeed was one of the players. I heard that Bayern Munich would paid €30m-35m [£26.1m-30.5m] and that wasn’t enough of for Arsenal. They said, ‘No, we don’t have to talk about that’.

“But there were talks with Martinelli’s agents. And I’m happy that my colleague, the transfer insider, Fabrizio Romano, also confirmed this was the case.

“It’s also true that Thomas Tuchel had discussed signing Martinelli during his time at Bayern. It was one of his ideas. He knows the Premier League very well, of course, from his time at Chelsea. And he made many proposals for players from this period. Martinelli was one of them.

“Also, Mason Mount was an idea of Tuchel’s. And now, you know, if you are on a short list at Bayern Munich, you can stay there for a while and become an idea for later. And so, you see, he’s a profile Bayern admire!”

What Martinelli has said about Arsenal future

Arsenal still have Martinelli under contract until 2027, with the option for a further year. You get the feeling it will be an important year for him to make his case for a longer stay or not.

However, speaking earlier this month while on Brazil duty, he gave the impression of a player ready to compete for his place.

“Regarding Arsenal, it’s like here in the national team,” he explained. “If you ask me if it’s good to have Vini or Rodrygo in the national team, I’ll definitely say yes.

“Because he’ll help the team to win titles. And if we want to win, we need quality players.

“It’s the same with Arsenal. I’m very happy with Eze and Madueke’s arrival as well. Trossard also plays on the left side.

“So, we’re very happy when we have quality players by our side. We have a lot of matches in the season. A lot of things can happen, injuries, etc.

“So, we’re happy for the club to be looking for the best players in the league so we can try to win.”

Arsenal transfer roundup: Bundesliga exit explained

One player who did trade Arsenal for the Bundesliga this summer was Fabio Vieira, who completed a loan move to Hamburg on deadline day.

Now, more information has dropped in Germany over how Arsenal have incentivised the deal to boost their chances of getting a good fee for him next year.

In other news, Arsenal have been linked with a move for Barcelona midfielder Marc Casado.

The latest reports have revealed the asking price that Barcelona have set.

And Arsenal are also rumoured to be among the contenders for an out-of-contract Liverpool star.