Gabriel Martinelli Shatters Drought with Hat-Trick for Al-Hilal

Gabriel Martinelli didn’t just arrive in Saudi Arabia on Saturday. He announced himself.

Under the lights in Buraidah, Al-Hilal’s new Brazilian forward ripped up an eight-month drought and left Al-Taawoun chasing shadows, firing a ruthless hat-trick in the seventh round of the Saudi Roshn League.

A drought shattered

The first release of pressure came early.

In the 18th minute, with Al-Hilal already probing, Martinelli reacted quickest to a loose ball inside the penalty area. A rebound dropped, he stepped in, and with the kind of composure that had gone missing from his club game for months, he guided it into the net.

One swing of his right boot, three burdens lifted.

It was his first goal for Al-Hilal, arriving in only his third appearance since his summer move from Arsenal. It was also his first club goal in seven months. For a player once defined by his relentlessness in front of goal, that gap had started to feel like a weight.

His last strikes at club level had come on 15 February, in Arsenal’s 4-0 win over Wigan Athletic in the fourth round of the FA Cup. Since then, he had found the net just once – for Brazil – in the 2-1 victory over Japan in the round of 32 at the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico.

In league football, the wait had been even longer. Martinelli had not scored in a domestic league match since 21 September 2025, when he struck in Arsenal’s 1-1 draw with Manchester City in the fifth round of the Premier League.

All of that history sat behind that 18th-minute finish. It showed in his celebration.

From relief to ruthlessness

Once the dam broke, the old instincts flooded back.

On 43 minutes, Martinelli struck again. English forward Ollie Watkins slid a precise through ball into space, and the Brazilian exploded onto it. One burst of acceleration took him clear, one cool finish made it 3-0 to Al-Hilal and doubled his personal tally.

The move had everything Al-Hilal hoped for when they brought him in: timing, pace, conviction.

Any thought that he might ease off after the break vanished almost immediately. Five minutes into the second half, the hat-trick was complete.

Dutch winger Crysencio Summerville darted down the flank and whipped in a low cross. Martinelli timed his run, arrived in stride, and swept the ball home with minimal fuss. A simple finish, but the kind that only looks easy when a forward is finally playing with rhythm.

In 50 minutes, he had turned a narrative of frustration into one of resurgence.

A new chapter for Al-Hilal’s No. 11

This was Martinelli’s first hat-trick for Al-Hilal and his first in eight months. The last time he walked off with the match ball was on 11 January, in Arsenal’s 4-1 win over Portsmouth in the third round of the FA Cup.

His start in Saudi Arabia had been quieter. He came off the bench for his debut in the 2-0 win over Al-Shabab in the fifth round of the Roshn League, then started the 2-0 defeat to Neom without scoring.

In Buraidah, that cautionary introduction gave way to something far more familiar: a wide forward playing on the front foot, attacking space, finishing with conviction.

For Al-Hilal, it felt like the night their marquee Brazilian truly arrived. For Martinelli, it looked like the night his goalscoring clock finally reset.