Arsenal and Gelson Martins: Well that de-escalated quickly

Arsenal were getting into some serious territory with Gelson Martins, but just like that it’s all over. Or is it? This all happened so fast.

Arsenal had the perfect solution right there in front of them. They needed a top-class solution and they needed it on the wings. But they also needed it on the cheap.

Which pretty much made it impossible. Finding a top-class winger for next to nothing is literally impossible. That’s not how the modern transfer market works. And yet, it is how it was suddenly working, because Gelson Martins was a free agent and as the name implies, that means he had so much to offer.

Martins is one of the most promising young wingers out there and a not-so-pleasant situation dropped him into the transfer market like a singles’ mixer.

It was the perfect fit and, just as the war was kicking off and we were digging in for the long haul, reports have surfaced that it may be over before it could even get started.

According to the reports, Gelson Martins has agreed to join Atletico Madrid, who leaped into the fray in the last few days and, just like that, they locked him up – again, reportedly. Meanwhile, plenty of other teams are left baffled as well by the La Liga’s sudden unstoppable transfer raid.

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It’s hard to ignore that this is a setback for Arsenal, who really, really could have benefited from such a clear-cut solution for such a remarkable fee.

While the move isn’t official, we might as well treat it as such, because the Gunners interest has cooled as they’ve been caught snapping at the heels of other wide solutions – Cristian Pavon and the like.

Meanwhile, ever since Atletico Madrid have been linked to Martins, no other team has been strongly tied at all. They’ve all seemingly disappeared.

So yeah, chances are, we are missing out on Gelson Martins, the perfect solution that was somehow free. Bummer. But on the bright side, there are other options, and given the Gunners dedication towards finding a sensible winger solution for the long haul, it would be surprising if they come out of this window without having landed someone.

For what that’s worth.

Next: Arsenal's End Of Season Player Rankings

Looks like Atletico will be beating us twice in the span of just a few months. I’m not very thrilled about it, but whoever we get will inevitably be better, because that’s how life works.

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