Arsenal signed Gabriel Martinelli for £5.3m

Ituano left winger Gabriel Martinelli is officially an Arsenal player. Arsenal paid the Brazilian club £5.3m for the Brazilian.

Gabriel Martinelli's signing will be Arsenal's first signing in the summer transfer window of 2019.

Arsenal's statement read:

"Brazilian forward Gabriel Martinelli is joining us from Ituano Futebol Clube on a long-term contract."

"Gabriel has made rapid progress during his short time at Ituano. Since making his debut in November 2017 aged just 16 years and nine months, the young forward scored 10 goals from his 34 appearances for the Sao Paulo-based club."

"The 18-year-old’s development was also recently acknowledged by the Brazilian national team, with a call-up to the full squad for a training camp in May ahead of the Copa America."

"Gabriel was voted as the 2019 Best Newcomer and also a member of the 2019 Team of the Year for the Campeonato Paulista - the football league for the state of Sao Paulo."

"The deal is subject to the completion of regulatory processes."

"Gabriel will shortly join up with his new team mates for pre-season training."

It is unknown if the 18-year old will break into the senior squad, or play for the under-21 team. However, according to the statement, he will join the Gunners in the pre-season training.

"It is a dream since I was a child and also my family’s dream for me to be playing in Europe and playing for a big team like Arsenal," he said. "I am going to take this opportunity."

He is half-Brazilian and half-Italian, which means that he doesn't have to take a work permit to play for Arsenal.

It is not Martinelli's first experience in Europe, as he ever had trials with Manchester United and Barcelona in 2015. However, he decided to play for Ituano.