Despite apparently missing out on Raphinha, with the consensus ot Arsenal fans agreeing that the Brazilian was not such a great priority, especially for the money that Leeds United were demanding, that doesn’t mean Arsenal are not still working on more deals at the moment.
It would seem that the versatile Ajax defender Lisandro Martinez is one of our most pressing needs and with Arsenal reportedly having put in a second bid for the Argentina international it was thought we were going to get this deal over the line quickly, as we have done with some of our other targets this summer.
But, according to Fabrizio Romano, speaking exclusively to CaughtOffside, Manchester United are still definitely in the running. He said: “The impressive Argentine has been linked by various sources with both Arsenal and Manchester United, with slightly differing takes on what’s going on with the player.
“My understanding is that these are two negotiations at different stages: Arsenal have already submitted official offers up to €40m plus add-ons for Martinez, while Manchester United are currently busy with Tyrell Malacia and Frenkie de Jong, but have had contact with Lisandro’s agents.
“The player is so far open to negotiate with both clubs. Arsenal are insisting a lot this week because Arteta is understood to be a big fan of Lisandro, considered a versatile player with top team skills. For now, the Gunners’ interest is more advanced, but this still looks like it could be an open race.”
There is no doubt that Arsenal will need a left-sided full back before next season as cover for Kieran Tierney, and with very few plausible alternative rumours, I hope that Arteta and Edu have other targets in reserve….
———————————-
The Just Arsenal Show – Matt Turner’s profile and his value to Arsenal
Please watch and subscribe to JustArsenal Video channel for regular updates
We got to sign Martinez and sign him as quickly as possible while restoring some form of respectability to our transfer dealings.
Signing Martinez now will not only restore some lost pride but would allow most of us to forget about Raphinha though some thought he wasn’t necessary in the first place.
Lisando type signing is a must irrespective of who else we sign up front.
Losing out to Chelsea recently could force Edu hand here and turn out as a blessing in disguise for some fans
No pride was lost in the first place concerning Raphinha deal. He wanted Barca over us by all means. Then Chelsea brought more money…Don’t be surprised if he leaves for barca if they up their deal as the deal to chelsea isnt done yet. Dembele indecision is still making Barca wait i think…
Yes I do have a problem with potential signings that has their head else where.
But we need to do something now though about this left back situation, This Martinez am afraid, I knows nothing about him apart from hearing he has a compass on his left foot
What lost pride? Is our pride so fragile? Mine is certainly not. I’d be perfectly fine even if we have to go for someone other than Lisandro.
Forget Raphinha, Gun Smoke. He’s not Arsenal material. He will go to Barca. If not this year, surely within a year or so.
As for Martinez, this guy is a game changer. He just wants to go forward with the ball. He’s tough and very agile in a variety of places. He can give what we’ve been missing. Some fire in the engine room!
If I had a choice between the two it would be Martinez all day long!
Really GunneRay, is he that good?
Now if that is so, we should pay that 43 mil up front without second thoughts.
A key point to note is that’s its Manchester United we are competing against for his signature and they are famous for coming up with ridiculous offer especially for defender
He is that good, yes. But this is Arsenal. We banter over a few million until player, agent and everyone else gets bored and another club (Manure) come in for the kill!
Knowing full well Tiereny was injury prone why did we buy him? Spending 40mill on Martinez after spending 27m on Tierney feels like spending good money after bad. 200 mill Laca and Auba went for free and now Tierney is likely unsellable because of his injury issues. 250 k p/w Partey is headed in the same direction. Selling both ASAP is preferable
You are losing the plot with regard to the “injury prone” status of Tierney who I believe made 18 consecutive appearances last season.As for his being unsellable, a host of top sides would be after him if he became available.Every professional player suffers from injuries during their career , but we were unlucky in that both Tierney and Partey were absent at the business end of the season.
Why do people give so much weight to this guy Romano? He just regurgitates a summary of what other outlets are speculating.
In the end it’s likely the player wil go to work with his former manager at MU – IF their interest is genuine (they may just be running a false flag operation to bump the price for Arsenal and drag it out beyond the start of pre-season training).
P.S. The article says Arsenal has submitted a second bid, but looking at what other sources say, it looks as though 3 bids were submitted with the last totalling £40m with add-ons.
Your right. Romano and Ornstein don’t know any more than we do. No pundit or ex player knows any more than we do. 99% of “reports” are all made up by news outlets. But we all know that. Its a lotta fun and fills in time before the football starts again. 🙂
Dont talk foolish, its their job to know.
all in all, arsenal lack ambition. you need a player and can’t pay under 50m for someone you really need?? serious clubs will go in and sign him and that’s why we can’t haven’t won the league since 2004, refusing to pay that extra bit to get a player that can improve us and potentially make us a force once more, ask higuain,mata,hazard,suarez, etc, that’s why I sadly think we won’t be winning the league in this generation.
This is one of the few believable rumours and IMO, will mean us buying him.
A far more sensible and needed player than the now and financially mercifully aborted Raphinha chase, which never looked likely to happen.
As all Gooners surely reaise, after MARTINEZ, we MOST NEED a top quality DM( we have had none at all since Gilberto back in “ancient history”) AND a proper quality, tall, pacy, mobile CENTRAL STRIKER
👍
why do ppl think he is a tierney backup/replacement? I just checked he played ever game as a CB last season. Seems to be no more a LB than Ben White is a RB.
I believe he has played at LB for Argentina and as a left central midfielder for Ajax.Based on his versatility he could step in for Tierney, but more importantly as far as I am concerned, he could take over from Xhaka.
I just dont think he’s played in these positions nearly enough. If he plays 90+% of his games as a CB he’s a CB. Where is the evidence he can do a better job than even Xhaka? I’d rather get an actal b2b instead of a hybrid defender/CM/CDM
I like the look of him, but really don’t understand the need – LB cover, maybe, but i don’t see that as desperate while we have tavares and Tomi who can play there.
Also can’t see him not being a starting CB for most games, so how does that fit, unless we’re changing formation?
And I can’t see us spending so much money on this player and then getting the proper cm/DM everyone knows we need. Doesn’t make much sense to me
player certainly not needed…. misplaced priority once again…. what do we need another young centre back for…..we already have saliba coming back, holding is there, then what other CB are we going for again…..edu and arteta should continue wasting funds on unknown inexperienced players not epl proven….next season they can have excuse of they are young again and we don’t have enough experience…. now is the time to go for experienced players in midfield in attack and even in defence…..a koulibali won’t be bad, he can organise our young defenders until they become more mature themselves…. koulibali is still in his prime and certainly not in the mode of an almost finished David luiz kind of experience….we have far too many youngsters in our team…..get experience arteta….. I’m sure at the end of this transfer window arteta would have spent over 400mil in just about 2 and half season …. one should be demanding for the league after spending such crazy amount but trust me , mediocrity is the other of the day within the arsenal… the excuse will start pouring again as usual that top 6 is progress…..I’m sure pep didn’t spend that much before he started winning the EPL…. plus we don’t ever sell our players for good money thanks to arteta rendering them valueless, another case in point pepe …..I hope they learn this window and bring in experience…..
If we sign him, I don’t see him as a backup for anyone.
With AMN back, we have cover for the LB and RB positiobs… as long as MA and he can sort out their differences.
Let’s not forget that Partey is also injury prone and the rumours about Xhaka and Roma are still rumbling on in the Italian press.
Saliba coming in pushes White into the DM role if required and the signing of Martinez will put pressure on both Partey and Xhaka and I believe he is a better, more reliable player than both of them.
Let’s get this signing over the line asap.
Yes but he doesn’t play cm/DM currently, and neither does white. If we’re going to spend so much, why spend it to play him in a new position – we’d have to be very sure it would work. Agree he looks like a good fit for midfield, but looks can be deceiving