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Arsenal have reportedly renewed their interest in signing Inter Milan striker Lautaro Martínez this summer…
THE LOWDOWN: WANTED MAN
Italian newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport (via Sempre Inter) named fierce north London rivals Tottenham Hotspur alongside Atletico Madrid and FC Barcelona as one of the main candidates to sign Inter Milan striker Martinez this summer back in April.
They claim that the north London outfit have expressed a concrete interest in the 24-year-old with Inter setting an asking price of between €60m (£49.7m) and €70m (£58m) for the Argentine goal machine.
Now, it appears as though the Gunners have renewed their interest to sign the forward and bolster their attacking options ahead of the new campaign.
THE LATEST: INTEREST RENEWED
According to The Times, the north London club have reignited their interest in Martinez after failing to sign the Argentina international last summer.
The report claims they were unable to meet Inter’s £60m valuation at the time, while Manchester United are also in the running for his signature and have already offered the Serie A club Anthony Martial in an exchange deal for Martinez.
However, the 24-year-old is only looking to join a club who will be playing in the Champions League next season, which would give Mikel Arteta’s men a major advantage if they finish fourth ahead of Tottenham in the Premier League.
THE VERDICT: UPGRADE ON LACAZETTE
Famously heralded “spectacular” by compatriot Lionel Messi and a “beast” by former teammate Romelu Lukaku, Martinez in recent seasons has catapulted himself to become one of Europe’s most deadly forwards.
The 37-time Argentina international has enjoyed a rapid rise since joining Italian champions from Racing Club in the summer of 2018 for just €20m (£18m).
The 24-year-old striker has gone from strength to strength with each passing season and has established himself as a mainstay in the Nerazzurri’s attacking unit, racking up 177 appearances while amassing a tally of 93 goal contributions (70 goals, 23 assists) in the process.
The £63m-rated hitman proved instrumental in Inter Milan breaking Juventus’ Serie A dominance, winning the club’s first Scudetto in 11 years.
Providing Arsenal do snap up the Argentinian goal machine, he would provide Arteta’s men with the title-winning experience to beef up their squad. Not only that, he’s remained a consistent goal scorer throughout his time in Italy.
In order for Arsenal to successfully match the likes of Manchester City, Liverpool and Chelsea for glory next term, they would need to possess a world-class forward who can score consistently, and the £76k-per-week goal machine has proven a true source of goals throughout his career, even at international level for Argentina where he’s notched an impressive 19 goals in 37 caps.
In his last three seasons for Italian giants, the Bahia Blanca-born attacker has ranked in the top ten for non-penalty goals as per FBRef, a record Alexandre Lacazette cannot claim to possess during his time at the Emirates.
It’s why Martinez would be a considerable upgrade on the Frenchman and ultimately be the man to far more competitive in the Premier League if he does make the move to north London this summer.
AND IN OTHER NEWS, Arsenal signify their interest in this French Ligue 1 sensation…
