Arsenal have missed out on Lisandro Martinez but feel that Manchester United’s deal for him simply doesn’t represent good value for money.
The Gunners are on the verge of another summer signing with Manchester City’s Oleksandr Zinchenko set to arrive this week.
Zinchenko will provide great competition both in midfield and at left back and will reunite with former City coach Mikel Arteta.
Arsenal have turned to the Ukrainian having failed to sign Martinez from Ajax, who has instead agreed to join Manchester United.
Arsenal have missed out on Lisandro Martinez
Martinez became a key target for Arsenal and two bids allegedly went in, with the latter reaching around £34million.
The idea was for Martinez to compete at left back and left-sided centre back at Arsenal, offering another option alongside Gabriel Magalhaes and Kieran Tierney.
Martinez, 24, seemed perfect for that role but Arsenal just weren’t able to get a deal done.
Ajax have now confirmed the sale of Martinez to Manchester United, allowing him to reunite with his former Ajax boss Erik ten Hag.
The fee, according to Ajax, was €57.37million rising to €67.37million – around £49million rising to £57million.
That’s a long way away from Arsenal’s £34million offer and you can hardly blame the Gunners for backing away at that price.
David Ornstein has now commented on the move whilst speaking on The Athletic Football Podcast.
Ornstein claims that Arsenal’s interest in Martinez went back a little further than this summer but the Gunners really made a push this time around.
Ornstein noted that Arsenal just weren’t prepared to match United’s offers for Martinez, especially as he was mostly seen as a quality squad player rather than a nailed-on starter.
Arsenal seemingly didn’t feel that United’s deal was value for money and will instead go ahead with Zinchenko, who comes in at around £15million cheaper.
“There was interest in him from Arsenal previously, it wasn’t completely fresh, but this is when they really stepped it up,” said Ornstein. “As soon as Manchester United were in the equation and wanted to provide Erik ten Hag with a player that he was very determined to recruit, they went up to a level of finance that Arsenal just weren’t prepared to meet.”
“They didn’t think that was the sort of value for money they were looking for, for a player who – at this point – they were looking at to compete with Kieran Tierney at left back, maybe operate at left centre back and maybe into midfield,” he added.
Zinchenko doesn’t have that added versatility of playing at centre back but with his Premier League experience, Arsenal will be very comfortable with missing out on Martinez and bringing in the Ukrainian.
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