Arsenal agree pre-contract to stop Spurs transfer hijack

Whether the Arsenal transfer rumours claiming that the Porto and Colombia international star Jackson Martinez is the striker that Arsene Wenger wants to sign to boost the front line of the Gunners, we can only wait and see, although the Portuguese press seem pretty sure.

However, a Metro report this morning claimed that our north London rivals, fresh from their latest failure to finish above Arsenal in the Premier League table, are planning to hijack the move with a transfer bid of their own and have agreed to meet his release clause of around £25 million.

Now you may not see the spuds as any sort of threat, in the transfer market or the Premier League, but perhaps Wenger is worried about the possibility of them convincing the prolific striker and his Portuguese club that White Hart Lane is a good alternative to Arsenal because The Mirror is now reporting the news from Portugal that we have got the 28-year old forward to sign a pre-contract agreement before the transfer window officially opens.

Your guess is as good as mine as to whether these two stories are connected or whether there is any truth in them but with Jackson having smashed an average of 30 goals in his last three seasons, I certainly would not mind it if we did sign him this summer. Or would you prefer someone else?

Tags jackson Martinez Porto Wenger

40 Comments

  1. As far as I’m aware, Martinez is an Arsenal fan I think. Last year when he was linked to us apparently he said he dreamt of playing for us. If Tottenham want to pay his release clause fine, but they still have to convince the player to sign for them instead of us. Liverpool offered Barcelona more money for Alexis Sanchez than we did, but Alexis said he wanted to come to Arsenal so Barca had to accept our offer, even though it was for less money. If Martinez is an Arsenal fan I highly doubt he’d turn us down, especially for Tottenham.

    But even so, I’ve said Martinez might be a little old for us. But if we’re reportedly offering less than his £25m release clause, then that would make him a lot better value for money, so who knows, might be a good deal after all. No doubting his quality, just whether at his age, he’s worth that much money.

    1. He pLays in a portugese League…….doesn’t he?…… He’s 28yrs oLd……isn’t he?………. We don’t have mediocre teams like maritimo, boavista, pienafiel, arouca et al in the english premier League

      1. he scored 4against another mediocre club Bayern Munich over 2meetings…..how many has yo giroud with premier league experience scored against them in like 4meetings?

  2. Always rated Martinez and always thought he would be a good fit for us. Plays a similar game to Giroud, just with a bit more pace. If we get him, I for one will be happy.

    1. Chelsea – Costa
      City – Aguero
      United – Rooney
      Barca – Suarez
      Real – Benzema
      Bayern – Lewandowski

      Arsenal – Afobe

      Just what in the hell are you smoking?

      1. All I’m saying is, we let a good guy like Afobe go, while someone like Sanogo stays, and I think Afobe is far much better, even better than Miyachi and Gnabry.

            1. Adobe is also 4 years older than Akpom. If he’s so great, why is it that not a single Premier League team tried to sign him when we sold him?

              1. It wont be long before they do come calling. Id be sick if the boy ended up at liv or spu and kept on hitting back of net. Spu will be maybe looking to replace Kane and while i would expect them get a 20+ mil player i think they may also look at another young Brit to appease fans… Afobe could be that player.

      2. @Champagne Charlie
        I’m smokin the truth dude. He’s far more prolific than “anybody” we have upfront. He came from our Academy but never got a look in. Yet we bring in YaYa, Danny and rely on Theo and Olivier. Where has that got us?
        Now you’re grabbin your dks over some 28 year old dude from Ligue1 to be our savior. You need to ask yourself that very same question, because I see you didn’t name any one of the forwards we actually have playing for us on that list…

        1. I was responding to your idea of Afobe that’s why. We have 1 ST and that’s Giroud, he is a step down from all those I named, but he’s leagues ahead of Afobe and if you don’t see that you got some issues with your eyes.

          Point of the argument is we need to bring in a ST……but in no way should that ST be Afobe for crying out loud.

          1. Youre not wrong Charlie but i think with allot of fans its more a case of Wenger letting go the wrong player. Sanogo i doubt has ever had a season like Afobes i could be wrong but doubt it, and we let him go half way through that season.

            Personally i can see why Wenger opted with Akpom over Afobe, Akpom has the pace and is similar to Campbell Gnabry and others. Wenger likes certain attributes and Afobe other than his goals doesnt strike many off a list.

            Afobe though just might become a real fox in the box, never liked that saying we used to call them hatchers… or lazy bolox lol. Now if Afobe could learn how to use his height and strength to go with his finishing he would become a top target for most PL clubs, thats if he can make the step up with his finishing.

  3. The guy is beastly, and by god can he shoot!!! We f**king need to start shooting!!! Just shoot already, god damn it!!! With Giroud, all we do is caress the ball upfront, no f**king shot!!!

    1. _________________Off Topic_________

      The season is now over, we must now take this time to relax and plan very well for the next season. The just concluded season wasn’t all bad, bad but not all bad. We could have done better, thanks to the injury gods for messing things up, thanks to Arsene for getting it all wrong tactically every now and then. So, we do need to add some worldclass players to our squad next season, but I think a keeper should be least of our priorities.

      First and foremost, we must try to ensure our players don’t always get injured. Seriously, I have no idea why our players often get injured, but if we don’t get characteristically plagued with injury, I reckon we can really go far in our bid for the trophy. You need your best players fit at all times, particularly if you must win anything.

      We do need some quality additions to the club, but I strongly think a keeper shouldn’t be of utmost priority. I wonder why people here tend to have more faith in Szczęsny than they do in Ospina.

      Ospina’s record in the league is one of the best, considering this happens to be just the first time him in the league. I mean, which keeper in the league hasn’t made a mess of himself at some point in time? Even the legends have. But Ospina has been great in his first season, he even EARNED the trust of the manager and displaced Szczęsny in the first team.

      Let’s just focus on getting a world-class striker, an outright defensive midfielder with a Makalele mindset, and maybe another outstanding central back. If Szczęsny feels like leaving, or if it’s imperative that we get Cech, then we should rather do away with Szczęsny whom I feel is more prone to error.

      1. Coquelin is an outright DM, we need a DM who can play too so our possession game isn’t sacrificed as it has often been this 2nd half of the season.

        The GK is an easy one, either Cech or nobody.

        Then we should be getting a St of genuine star quality.

        Lastly, would be nice to snare Sterling and cap off a productive summer.

  4. Off Topic

    Carlo Ancelotti has been sacked as manager of Real Madrid. I wonder who we could pinch off of them.

    1. He has been sacked??? Ahahahahahahaha!!! Confused idiots there. I guess they’d now go for Big Sam.

        1. If i was Bayern Munich i would let Pep go and bring in Ancelotti, i dont think Klopp would go there but i would get Carlo while i could. Bayern where lethal when they knew how to counter quickly.

          Id be ok with JM signing. He looks to have everything we want in a striker, if he can keep up his scoring im sure hed be one hell of a signing. After reading yesterday about Walcott becoming striker and this rumour being Metro i dont really know what to make of it. Today Juve are said to have pinched Khedira, if true well then will it be to replace Vidal or for Pogba… my guess would be Pogba. Juve are not going to want any outgoings with them having done so well but Pogba is not a player they are capable of keeping hold of – for that reason i say Khedira is replacing Pogba.

          JM and AV would be excellent if true. Arsene targeting experienced pros is exactly what we need.

    1. Of course, son. We can get him, we can get anybody we want, but we won’t’. So, u just go get him for yourself on your FIFA 15.

  5. Breaking news!!!

    Cristiano Ronaldo demands Arsenal transfer after Ancelotti sacking! Ronaldo is understood to be furious with Madrid officials this evening, and has already commanded his agent to make the move to North London happen. Ronaldo was also spotted just an hour later in a local cafe, booking tickets to London on his phone via easyjet, which only confirms the transfer.

    Wenger denies any interest in the player, “we are strong in attack, we have top options with Giroud and Walcott, and we also have Campbell, Sanogo, Podolski and Akpom coming back in the summer”, but the Frenchman did hint at a move when pushed further, “if any player is unhappy, then yes, a transfer could happen. We have funds, and we’re looking to strengthen” .
    I badly want to work for the Metro.

  6. My problem is ‘Metro’…..If this news came from bbcnews.com’, I would probably be feeling great about it. Just like Vidal rumour, its everywhere but not on skysports or bbcnews.com. Those are two websites I trust for rumours before its official in arsenal.com.

    1. @Uzi Ozil
      It’s on The Guardian website. He’s leaving, not being sacked. He will be having back surgery…

          1. Lol! Yeah, he thinks we don’t know these things. He’s crying, but he tells us he got something in his eyes itching seriously.

  7. i sometimes wonder what kind of people sit in front of the pc and thumbs down positive comments about J.Martinez joining us… You people really dont know what striker is!!! also i am taking bets and the bet goes like this… if JM join us i bet in 500 pounds that he will score 20+ goals in the first season, so if you have what it takes go for it… I am gonna leave the e-mail when he and if he join us…

  8. Jackson has been an Arsenal fan since childhood. No way he will go to Spuds

    Speaking of Arsenal fans, congratulations to James Degale for winning the world title on the weekend

  9. his goal scoring record speaks for it self but would be better if we got him for cheaper price like closer to £20 million, could be bargain for 2-3 years of shed-load of goals probably the most flamboyant of all the strikers we could be approaching this summer, has got a right nose for the back of the net and scores from every angle under the sun with both feet, and he would be a great stopgap until akpom comes good in 2 years time.
    LET THE TRANSFER GAMES BEGIN LETS GO OUT AND GET THE PLAYERS WE NEED
    #WENGERTHETRANSFERMAGICIAN

    1. If we pay 25 million for Jackson and we win the EPL next season because of it, I for one wouldn’t argue.

  10. What Martinez said last summer: “As a child I cheered for Arsenal, they play a game that suits me. If I had the occasion to play there, I would say yes.”

    http://www.justarsenal.com/jackson-martinez-wants-to-join-arsenal/33596

    What Wenger said in February: “He has top physical strengths. Hugely efficient, he is the kind of player who can make room for himself in the box.

    “He could play in the Premier League because he has the body to make the difference. He uses it in a very intelligent way. Very short back lift and he’s a very good finisher.’

    http://www.justarsenal.com/arsenal-given-green-light-to-buy-jackson-martinez/39055

  11. I think Wenger is going to strengthen our left wing in the transfer window. So we can play 4-3-3 more often.

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