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What was Arsenal’s plan for Lisandro Martinez?
Arsenal failed in their pursuit to sign Lisandro Martinez from Ajax and the club were reportedly keen on using him differently to how Erik ten Hag’s utilised him at Manchester United thus far.
It’s been a baptism of fire for the slight Martinez in his first two weeks of Premier League football. The dogged channel runs of Danny Welbeck caused him issues on Matchday 1 before Brentford took full advantage of the Argentine’s diminutive frame last weekend as the Bees thrashed United 4-0.
Many have questioned Martinez’s suitability for the Premier League due to his height – he’s 5’9 – but he was a profile that intrigued Arsenal due to his versatility and technical proficiency.
What was Arsenal’s plan for summer target Lisandro Martinez?
https://twitter.com/SkySportsPL/status/1559249961417691138
The Gunners were in for the Ajax defender earlier this summer, but they were never going to win the race for his signature once Manchester United entered the fray.
Ten Hag’s Red Devils ended up paying over £56m for Martinez’s services as Arsenal turned their attention to Manchester City full-back Oleksandr Zinchenko.
Arteta was in the market for a technically secure and flexible defender this summer, with Zinchenko proving to be the ideal alternative to Martinez, who has been used as a centre-back in his first two Premier League games by Ten Hag.
According to James McNicholas of The Athletic (via @afcstuff), though, Arsenal intended to use the Argentine differently had he joined the Gunners. The club supposedly held concerns over the defender’s viability as a central defender in the Premier League and were instead going to utilise him as a left-back.
Martinez presumably would’ve performed a similar function to Zinchenko in north London, and there’s no doubting that the former Ajax man would’ve suited this role. While the 24-year-old is obviously a gifted footballer, his physical deficiencies mean he’ll always be targeted by Premier League sides – especially inferior outfits (although there aren’t too many of those, at the moment!).
Arsenal’s idea for Martinez was the logical one, but I’m sure Ten Hag will continue to be patient with the Argentine at the heart of his defence.