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Report: Arsenal could sign 24 y/o for £51m with Serie A club in ‘financial mess’

Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium by Ank kumar, CC BY-SA 4.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

Arsenal started the season with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Alexandre Lacazette, Gabriel Martinelli and Eddie Nketiah at their disposal, but Mikel Arteta could go into the summer transfer window with only Martinelli available.

Aubameyang had his contract mutually terminated and could be followed out the exit door by Lacazette who has turned down a new deal at the Emirates Stadium. Then there’s Nketiah who has struggled to nail down a starting place and could be a free agent in the coming weeks.

Arsenal are fourth in the Premier League table on points (66) but seventh for goals (56) despite being third in the league for shots (15.5), so they need a player who will convert the chances others are missing.

Arteta may need at least one striker this summer and Gazzetta Dello Sport (h/t The Sun) believe Lautaro Martinez is the player Arsenal have identified. The 24-year-old could be granted a move away from Inter Milan this summer as the Serie A giants are in ‘financial mess’, but he still won’t come cheap.

Martinez has an asking price of £51m and takes home €6m-a-year/€115k-per-week (£5.1m-a-year/£98k-per-week) in wages, so Arsenal would have to commit a lot of money to sign him. There’s no doubt the Argentine international, who boasts 19 goals in 37 games for his country, would improve Arsenal’s squad, however.

The 24-year-old joined Inter from Racing Club in 2018 and has gone on to make 177 appearances in all competitions, scoring 72 goals with 23 assists. Martinez has made 45 appearances across the board this season, scoring 23 goals with three assists, so he’s the ideal prolific striker.

One twist in the tale in Martinez’s insistence to stay, however. Inter are keen cash in for the sake of their financial health, but the striker doesn’t actually want to leave this summer. Arsenal may negotiate a deal with Inter but could struggle to agree personal terms with the player.

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