Youri Tielemans or Lisandro Martinez – Who should Arsenal target next?

Arsenal and Mikel Arteta finally secured the signing of Gabriel Jesus, but now their attention turns to the next target; who will the club pursue next?

Mikel Arteta finally got his number one priority signed, sealed, and delivered as Gabriel Jesus was revealed as the club’s new number nine following his £45m move from Manchester City.

With that deal now done, attention turns to the next deal. Adding Fabio Vieira and Jesus certainly helps the Gunners in the forward half of the pitch in terms of goalscoring power and creativity.

However, perhaps the even more pressing area that needs addressing is the midfield. With Thomas Partey absolutely crucial to everything Arsenal does well, behind him, it is bare bones.

Granit Xhaka, while solid, is not the guy Arteta ultimately wants to partner with the Ghanian.

Sambi Lokonga is still coming to terms with the English game, and Mohamed Elneny is a player who is perfect for squad depth but should not be relied upon in big situations. While he did perform rather well at the backend of last season, it was not what Mikel Arteta wanted in the middle of the park. It was more by necessity than anything else that the Egyptian played a serious role during the last month of the league campaign.

Who should Arsenal target next?

So that brings us to Arsenal’s next transfer target. Should it be the versatile Argentine in Lisandro Martinez who can fill in at left-back, centre-back, and even defensive midfield? Or should it be Youri Tielemans of Leicester City? Someone who can slot straight into the team seamlessly and be that perfect distributor for Arsenal’s talented forwards.

Given the price tags between the two, Tielemans would likely be the logical choice. But given that his rumoured fee is so low (reportedly just £25m) due to the Belgian being in the last year of his contract, there could be a possibility of securing both Martinez and Tielemans. But we know Arsenal can’t be that lucky, can they?

Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag is reportedly keen to reunite with Martinez, so Arsenal will face stiff competition and could end up in a bidding war for the 24-year-old’s services. The Gunners have already reportedly tabled an offer of €45m for the Argentine.

Regarding Tielemans, according to Ben Jacobs of CBS Sports, the deal is there for Arsenal to swoop in. Personal terms have even been agreed upon between the club and player. That would not be the case if a move wasn’t going to happen. What is odd, though, is that Arsenal are yet to lodge a bid for the 25-year-old.

Were they waiting for the Jesus deal to be wrapped up before moving on to other targets?

According to Jacobs, Edu is still in touch with Tielemans’ agent and the player himself is said to be keen on a move to north London. Jacobs also stated in an interview with GiveMeSport that even with Manchester United interested, Tielemans only wants Arsenal.

Given that everything seems to be agreed upon and in place, the potential deal would be a slam dunk for Edu and co. But with Martinez being such a talent with his versatility and tenacity, the Gunners are unwilling to let United simply have him without a fight.

The fact that despite his former manager wanting him, Charles Watts states that the Argentine is strongly considering Arsenal as his next club should he move.

So it appears that Arsenal are in for two players they could very well get. But if push came to shove, who would Arteta and Edu go with? It is a nice problem to have, that’s for sure.