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Arsenal going head-to-head with Italian giants to sign £52m-rated attacker

By on June 25, 2018

According to reports in Italy via Football London, Arsenal are going head-to-head with Lazio over a deal to sign £52m-rated Sporting Lisbon winger Gelson Martins this summer.

Unai Emery has been focussing his attention on strengthening at the back so far this summer with goalkeeper Bernd Leno and right-back Stephan Lichtsteiner already in the bag.

Deals to sign Borussia Dortmund centre-back Sokratis Papastathopoulos and Sampdoria defensive midfielder Lucas Torreira are also reportedly close to completion but Emery also needs to add some genuine width to our attack.

Martins has emerged as a prime target in recent weeks with widespread reports suggesting that Emery is keen for the Portuguese international to play alongside Mesut Ozil, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang next season.

The 23-year-old has developed in to one of the most exciting young attackers in Portugal and provided 13 goals and 13 assists last season for Sporting to earn a place in the Portuguese World Cup squad.

However, Martins future at the Estadio Jose Alvalade is in serious doubt as he’s one of several players who’re trying to terminate their contracts using ‘just cause’ after being attacked by angry fans at the clubs training ground last month.

Martins has a £52m release clause in his contract but Football London claim he could be available for nothing if the courts allow him to cancel his contract so it’s understandable his situation has alerted a number of European clubs.

The report is citing Corriere dello Sport as saying that Arsenal are ready to go head-to-head with Lazio to sign Martins this summer – although the Italian giants are believed to have already made contact with his agent to discuss a move.

Obviously there’s still plenty of time left for Arsenal to step-up our interest and some reports in recent weeks have suggested we’ve also been in touch with Martins’ agents so we’re right in the mix for his signature.

MORE: Arsenal ready to announce £26m signing

I said many times last season that we lacked width so I desperately want us to sign a proper winger this summer and Martins would be an excellent addition to the squad – especially if we could snap him up for nothing!

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