Many reports from Spain have surfaced recently stating that Gelson Martins can be allowed to leave Wanda Metropolitano this winter. Arsenal are reportedly understood to be locked in a battle with AS Monaco to secure his services.
The Les Monegasques are presently managed by Thierry Henry, who happens to be a club legend for Gunners which makes this particular transfer story all the more interesting.
Gelson Martins arrived in Spain in the previous transfer window from Sporting CP. The Portuguese international rose through the ranks of Sporting CPās youth setup having impressed the club with his flamboyant style of play. That earned him a place in the senior squad.
He played with them for three seasons before making a move to Spain. Martins rescinded his contract with Sporting and signed for Atletico Madrid as a free agent last summer.
Martins has managed a total of eight appearances for Los Rojiblancos till now, of which one came as a start. Needless to say, life has been not been as sparkling as expected for the Portuguese of late.
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It is natural that Gelson Martins is looking for greener pastures. It is also reported that he missed his training session on Friday and was also missing from the match-day squad on Saturday. This has naturally fuelled a lot of speculation regarding an imminent transfer.
This move makes sense for Diego Simeone. He has always admired Alvaro Morata and would love to pair him up with Antoine Griezmann. This combination can give Simeone a powerful attacking option in front of the goal despite the fact that Morata is not going to come cheap at any cost.
Hence in order to make way for a move of this magnitude to come to pass, the club needs to make sufficient room in their wage bill. A transfer to the Spanish capital will also provide Morata a fresh start to his career, something which he will be quite looking looking forward to, after his less than ideal story at Stamford Bridge. Morata is already familiar with La Liga after his short stint with Real Madrid, hence a chain reaction of transfers in this situation makes perfect sense for all the parties involved.
The Gunners were previously heavily linked with Gelson Martins last summer. Martins can operate as a winger on both the flanks.
š° EUROPEAN PAPER TALK š°
The latest news from the European press as Arsenal are reportedly set to battle Thierry Henry's Monaco to sign Atletico Madrid winger Gelson Martins.
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— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) January 21, 2019
This move can certainly widen the options for Emery which he can use to bolster the attacking options at his disposal, given that this fills both his particular demands, a winger onboard as a loan signing.
However, Arsenal are not the only club in contention to sign Martins. Monaco are also reportedly interested in signing him as well. This should not come as a surprise as the principality side have had a dismal start to their campaign and currently sits at the 19th position in Ligue 1, hence a move for the highly coveted winger could certainly provide them the fresh spark to ignite their season.
They are in desperate need of bolstering their attacking quotient in order to fight their way out of relegation. This whole saga will hopefully come to conclusion in coming few days and we will have the answer to the question – what attracts Martins more? The desperation of Monaco or the visibility in Emirates.
