Despite reports that Tottenham has its sights set on Portuguese winger Rafael Leao in January, AC Milan is allegedly interested in acquiring Arsenal sensation Gabriel Martinelli as a substitute for Leao.

The Brazilian international has reportedly re-emerged on Milan’s radar ahead of the winter market as a possible replacement for Leao. Rumours are rising that the 23-year-old attacker might depart the Italian giants in January.

Despite Antonio Conte’s plethora of talented strikers, CalcioMercatoWeb reports that Tottenham is interested in acquiring Leao. He has a rumoured release clause of £105m. What this means for Arsenal, though, is that a north London team has shown interest in the winger.

Many believe that Arsenal’s Martinelli is one of the best players in the league. He has the potential to develop into a top attacker on the international stage. Given that the winger’s current term will expire in 2024, the Gunners are in a race against time to sign the teenager to a new contract.

Many Arsenal supporters see Martinelli as one of the team’s most crucial pieces when Mikel Arteta takes over as manager. Losing the winger to Milan in a deal orchestrated by Tottenham would be one of the heaviest transfer blows the Premier League leaders have suffered in some time.

Although such a chain of events is theoretically possible, the odds of it really occurring are rather unlikely due to the high price tag that Leao would bring to Tottenham and Martinelli’s stated intention to sign a new deal with Arsenal despite interest from teams like Milan.

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Due to rumours from Milan, Arsenal must speed up their contract negotiations with Martinelli

Although Martinelli’s contract has almost 18 months left until it expires, the Gunners cannot afford to rest on their laurels as interest from clubs like Milan grows in the Brazilian marvel. The Gunners must do all in their power to extend Martinelli’s current deal.

Martinelli is too excellent an attacker at this point of his career for Arsenal not to make every effort to sign him to a new long-term deal before the January transfer window.

With the Brazilian forward’s long-term future still up in the air, Barcelona has been “watching” Arsenal’s Gabriel Martinelli’s performance at the World Cup.

Will Martinelli stay?

Martinelli’s selection in Tite’s final 26-man squad for the tournament in Qatar came as a surprise, despite his stellar play for Arsenal this season. In the last year, the 21-year-old has emerged as a key cog for Mikel Arteta’s squad. He has seen little action for his country.

While the Gunners would want to sign Martinelli to a new contract as a reward for his strong play, negotiations have so far been unsuccessful. It has come to light that teams in other parts of Europe may be planning to take advantage of this situation in the next year.

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