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This summer has already been a busy one for Arsenal, with the Gunners completing three deals so far in the form of Nuno Tavares, Albert Sambi Lokonga, and Ben White.
After a combined expenditure of casino-like money of £65million, the club are running low on transfer funds for the rest of the window.
However, this hasn’t stopped their interest in further signings according to reports, with Mikel Arteta hoping to add to his attacking options ahead of next season with a big money move.
The Gunners have been linked with a move for Inter Milan and Argentina striker Lautaro Martinez this summer, with them looking at a swap deal including Hector Bellerin and Alexandre Lacazette as reported by The Express.
Spanish right-back Bellerin’s form has dropped over the last few seasons, and Lacazette’s contract runs out at the club next summer – meaning the club will be looking to cash in on the French striker soon.
However, despite Arsenal’s proposals over a swap deal including the two players, Inter have made it clear that they are not interested.
The Serie A club are solely interested in a cash deal for Martinez, with them demanding £68.3million, or €80million, for the 23-year-old.
If Arsenal were to try and complete a deal for the striker, this would take their overall spending for just this summer to just over £130million and that does not include the undisclosed fee for Tavares from Benfica.
With his weekly wages likely also to be a concern, it is unrealistic for the club to be able to bring in Martinez as well as keep hold of Lacazette and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in their ranks.
It appears the club will need to focus on offloading their unwanted attacking options if they hope to secure Martinez, with it unlikely to be sustainable for the Gunners to acquire the Argentinian with the pair still at the club.
The pair have been far from the standard needed for Arteta and Arsenal, however, it may be difficult for the club to cash in on the pair this summer.
If they managed to offload at least one of the two then that would certainly help them win adding to their funds to secure Martinez.
The striker is interested in a move according to The Athletic, despite the initial thought that he was committed to Inter for the foreseeable.
Time will tell as to how Arsenal may approach this deal but one thing for sure is that it will be costly for the Gunners.
