Arsenal fans believe two first-team players might be leaving after they chose not to join in the Community Shield celebrations.
Arsenal fans are wondering if two first-team players might leave the club after they noticed something unusual following the Community Shield match.
On Sunday (August 16) in Cardiff, Wales, Mikel Arteta’s team won the Community Shield with a strong 3-0 win over Enzo Maresca’s Manchester City. Arsenal took the lead just one minute in when Riccardo Calafiori scored from a perfect pass by Myles Lewis-Skelly. Then, on 28 minutes, Kai Havertz made it 2-0 with a header, assisted by new signing Christos Tzolis. Tzolis also helped set up the third goal, where Martin Odegaard cleverly fooled the goalkeeper before calmly scoring to give Arsenal a 3-0 victory.
This win gave Arsenal their 18th Community Shield, and Arteta looked very pleased with how his team played. He said, “I’m really happy with the performance, the effort, and how we competed. It was a great test to see where we are. The boys did an incredible job following our plan. Even though we’re not perfect yet and some players are still getting used to the team, the way everyone worked hard was a joy to watch.”
While most players joined in the post-match celebrations, some fans noticed that Gabriel Martinelli and Ethan Nwaneri didn’t join the group when the shield was lifted. They stood on the sidelines, which made many fans think the two players might be leaving Arsenal soon.
On social media, fans shared their feelings. One said, “I know we want to refresh the squad, but this is really sad.” Another added, “Nwaneri and Martinelli are gone. They barely wanted to join the celebrations until Big Gabi called them over.” Others thought they might be leaving because they won’t get much playing time soon, and one fan wrote, “It’s heartbreaking. Martinelli probably even cried. But that’s football and life.”
Both players weren’t included in the squad for the match, and reports say they could leave before the transfer deadline on September 1. Martinelli has been linked with a move to Turkish club Galatasaray. Nwaneri, who was on loan last season with Marseille in France, is attracting interest from several European clubs like AC Milan, RB Leipzig, and Borussia Dortmund. Martinelli’s contract runs until 2027, and Nwaneri’s until 2030.
Arsenal will play their first Premier League game of the 2026/27 season on Friday (August 21) against newly promoted Coventry City.
After the Community Shield, Arteta explained that the absence of Gabriel Jesus, Martinelli, and Nwaneri was due to squad size limits. He said, “It’s really sad not to have them available. I’ve been asking the Premier League to allow bigger squads because it’s always hard not to include everyone. They all deserve to be in the team, including Ethan and Marli Salmon, who trained with us all pre-season. Hopefully, the rules will change, so more players can be part of the squad and help the team.”
When asked if these players will feature in future games, Arteta added, “Yes, they are all very important to us.”