Arsenal got lucky that late move for £70m striker didn’t come off
Many are of the opinion that Arsenal have left themselves short in attack after the transfer window shut on Tuesday night.
Mikel Arteta did all he could to convince Julian Alvarez to join the Premier League champions, but the Atletico Madrid forward wasn’t keen on leaving Spain.
The Gunners had considered a move for Malick Fofana on deadline day as a replacement for Gabriel Martinelli, but weren’t willing to match Lyon’s demands.
Fofana joined Sunderland in the end, and it was all quiet for the rest of the day as far as incomings.
However, reports have since emerged that there was another attacker they had contacted late in the window.
Arsenal should be relieved a deal for Lautaro Martinez didn’t materialise
According to the Daily Mail, Arteta’s assistant coach Gabriel Heinze reached out to fellow Argentine Lautaro Martinez about a possible move to Arsenal.
However, Inter Milan refused to entertain it and had no interest in selling the striker who has three years still left on his contract.
Some will see that as another frustrating near-miss in what had been a summer full of them. But Arsenal fans should be relieved it never happened.
Lautaro Martinez is a fine player — one with European credibility. But he is not the Lautaro of three or four or five years ago.
He is a player that’s long been linked with Arsenal, but at 29, although still productive, his best days are clearly behind him. And there’s no guarantee he would hit the ground running in the Premier League.
Gary Neville has identified the missing piece after the Aston Villa game — that electrifying, game-changing forward who turns 1-0 wins into 3-0 wins.
Martinez, at this stage of his career, is not that player. He would’ve been a decent but uninspiring addition.
And with Kai Havertz and Viktor Gyokeres already there — both arguably better than him anyway — Lautaro isn’t needed.
What does Arsenal’s interest in Lautaro Martinez say about Viktor Gyokeres?
Gyokeres hasn’t played a single Premier League minute so far this season. Alright, we’re only two games in, but it’s still peculiar.
If a 3-0 lead at home to Coventry isn’t a good time to bring him on, and a tight game against a high line at Villa Park isn’t a good time to bring him on, then what is?
Perhaps we’re reading too much into this, but between his absence and the transfer noise, it seems Arteta doesn’t fully fancy him, despite what he might say publicly.
Regardless, he doesn’t have a choice anymore. Once the two-games-a-week schedule kicks in, Gyokeres will have to be used, because Havertz can’t play every game.
Either way, the failed Martinez move keeps the powder dry. Arsenal may make a move for someone else, perhaps as early as January.
A proper, transformative attacking addition, one which genuinely moves the needle. Better to wait for the right player than settle for a convenient one.
