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‘Arsenal came’: Club chief says Edu came close to landing ‘excellent’ Premier League player this summer
Arsenal might be enjoying a fine season in the Premier League but their squad could have been even better had they got their way in the summer.
Despite signing the likes of Gabriel Jesus, Oleksandr Zinchenko, and Fabio Vieira, Arsenal were well in the mix to sign others as well. One of which was Manchester United defender, Lisandro Martinez.
Arsenal wanted Lisandro Martinez
The Argentinian was heavily-linked with Arsenal before making the move to Old Trafford. And speaking to , former United goalkeeper and current Ajax chief executive, Edwin Van der Sar, says he did indeed reject Arsenal’s offer.
“ came earlier for Lisandro, but it was an amount where we said, ‘Thank you very much for the offer, but we’d rather keep the player than start negotiating’. With United, it was a little bit different. Over the years we have had a few conversations: Daley Blind, ,” Van der Sar told .
“My job is making sure I make the best decisions for Ajax.”
Of course, it matters little now given Arsenal’s brilliant start to the season. Martinez, meanwhile, has been impressing in Manchester and is set for a big role in the World Cup.
TBR’s View: Lisandro Martinez would make Arsenal even better
You can see exactly why Arsenal tried to sign Martinez. He’s good on the ball, strong in the tackle and has a desire about him that Mikel Arteta would love.
In the end, it came down to Ajax simply liking United’s bid. Van der Sar probably played his part in helping his former club out as well.
For Martinez, the move to England has been a good one. However, with Arsenal flying and United overshadowed by the Ronaldo saga, he might look on in six months’ time and wish he’d pushed to move to London instead.