Arsenal Missed Semenyo Opportunity, Net Cost Could Have Been Only £5 Million

Arsenal have just confirmed the sale of Gabriel Martinelli to Al Hilal, leaving their attacking depth significantly weakened before the January transfer window opens next year.

According to BBC Sport, Martinelli's transfer fee could reach as high as £60 million, and that figure highlights what the Gunners' previous decision-making mistake was — they could have completed a major upgrade on the left side with a net spend of only £5 million.

The ideal target they missed

Earlier this year, Arsenal had the opportunity to sign Antoine Semenyo for his £65 million release clause. According to The Athletic, the Ghana international was an Arsenal supporter and was also keen on joining the club. Semenyo was in excellent form at Bournemouth in the first half of last season, scoring 10 goals, and after moving to Manchester City he added 11 more goals, finishing the season with 21 goals in total, level with Arsenal striker Viktor Gyökeres' final all-competition tally.

At the time, talkSPORT reported that Arsenal were indeed considering Semenyo, but wanted to complete player sales before making a move, possibly due to financial restrictions. However, reports later suggested that Arsenal had the financial ability to pursue major targets such as Vinicius and Julian Alvarez this summer, which appears to make the logic behind the decision less convincing.

The market has changed significantly

Since then, the transfer market has inflated significantly, with players of a similar level such as Morgan Rogers and Bradley Barcola commanding fees close to twice Semenyo's release clause. Therefore, the £60 million recovered from selling Martinelli may now have a much smaller impact. If Arsenal had decisively paid Semenyo's £65 million release clause and then sold Martinelli a few months later, they would have secured a more ideal left-wing upgrade for a net cost of only £5 million.

Arsenal were also hesitant over Rogers' transfer, allowing Chelsea to move ahead of them. They must now search for reinforcements in an inflated market. Looking back just a few months later, signing Semenyo for £65 million appears to have been excellent value, and considering they eventually sold Martinelli in the same year, this hesitation can be viewed as a major mistake — they missed an ideal replacement and upgrade option, while the net cost could have been only £5 million.

Lessons and reflection

Hindsight is always easier, but Arsenal must learn from this situation. In the transfer market, they need to act faster and more aggressively. Although completing player sales before making signings has some logic, the North London club clearly made the wrong choice in this case, which could cost them more in the long term.