Ornstein: Arsenal didn’t think Lisandro Martinez was value for money | OneFootball

Arsenal decided to pull out of a deal for Lisandro Martinez over the finances of the potential transfer, according to David Ornstein.

Ajax’s Argentine defender Lisandro Martinez (C) runs with the ball during the Dutch Eredivisie football match between Willem II and Ajax at the Koning Willem II stadium in Tilburg, southern Netherlands, on February 19, 2022. (Photo by MAURICE VAN STEEN/ANP/AFP via Getty Images)

With Manchester United completing a deal for Lisandro Martinez in recent days, there’s been some debate over exactly why he ended up in Manchester instead of joining Arsenal.

One report suggested that Martinez had turned Arsenal down, whilst others appeared to claim the Gunners had pulled out of the race.

The fact they’d never agreed a fee for the player supported that assessment, as it meant Martinez never realistically had the option to join Arsenal.

The Athletic’s David Ornstein has clarified the situation, reporting that Arsenal were indeed interested in Martinez, but not for the price United ended up paying.

“Arsenal decided to focus their attention on Lisandro Martinez of Ajax this summer,” Ornstein explained.

“But also there was interest in him from Arsenal previously, it wasn’t completely fresh, but this is when they really stepped it up.

“But as soon as Manchester United were in the equation and wanted to provide Erik ten Hag with a player that he was very determined to recruit, they went up to a level of finance that Arsenal just weren’t prepared to meet.

“They didn’t think that was the sort of value for money they were looking for…”

Unlike with most transfers nowadays, we actually do have official confirmation on the finances of the eventual Martinez deal.

Ajax themselves announced that Martinez was leaving for €57.37m (£48.94m), with additional bonuses bringing the potential total fee to €67.37m (£57.47m).

Arsenal haven’t yet tied up a deal for Oleksandr Zinchenko completely, but the fee of £30m agreed with Manchester City seems much more reasonable – for a player already proven in the Premier League.