Arsenal was desperate to land Lisandro Martinez in the summer and they were the first club to approach Ajax to add him to their squad.
The Argentinian was determined to leave and wanted a Premier League move, but Manchester United eventually beat the Gunners to land him.
It was a huge blow, and it was previously believed they missed out on his signature because Erik Ten Hag had gotten the upper hand, being that he was the manager of Ajax last season.
However, the United boss has now revealed it was the defender that called to offer himself to United. Ten Hag said via The Sun:
“But Martinez himself wanted to leave Ajax anyway. If we hadn’t taken him, he would have gone to Arsenal.
“They wanted him anyway, he was top priority there. Licha (Martinez) called me at one point: ‘Coach, listen, I’m leaving Ajax anyway. I can sign with Arsenal, but if you want me, I’m going to Manchester United.’
“Then I thought: ‘I shouldn’t shoot myself and United in the foot either’. He really wasn’t staying in Amsterdam, that was out of the question. Then we struck and it all worked out.”
Just Arsenal Opinion
We remain one of the best clubs in England for any player to join. However, Martinez clearly wanted to continue working with his former boss.
We do not hold it against him, and other players will choose us over going to United because of our manager or what we represent.
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