Why Arsenal should avoid signing Gelson Martins from Atletico Madrid
After terminating his contract with Sporting Lisbon, Gelson Martins signed for Atletico Madrid last summer. The announcement brought in a wave of excitement around the Wanda Metropolitano.
With just 8 appearances this season and the imminent arrival of Alvaro Morata from Chelsea, Gelson Martins looks set for a loan move outside the Spanish capital.
According to ESPN, Arsenal are on the lookout for a winger and Unai Emery could pounce at the opportunity of a loan deal for Gelson Martins. With limited options on either flank due to injuries to Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Danny Welbeck, the Gunners only have Alex Iwobi as their natural winger.
Unai Emery has played Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Mesut Ozil out wide on occasion and although they have done a decent job, Arsenal lack width in their play as both players tend to drift inside. Aaron Ramsey has also been used on the right but his departure is imminent and Arsenal need a natural winger to come in. Gelson Martins is linked but will it be a good fit for the North Londoners?
Still only 23, the former Sporting man isn’t short of experience having played over 120 senior appearances for club and country and his ability to take on players cannot be questioned but his end product is quite concerning. With a disappointing average of 0.4 shots per game, 0.6 crosses per game (WhoScored) and an average first touch, the Portuguese will not bring any improvement to the Emirates.
Martins’s off the field dispute with Sporting Lisbon regarding the termination of his contract might move to court (A Bola) and might potentially act as a huge distraction to his performances. According to a report by AS, Martins is demanding a whopping 3.2 million Euros from the Lisbon club and that dispute doesn’t look like it will be resolved anytime soon.
AS Monaco are also looking at the speedy Atletico winger (O Jogo) and Newcastle are in talks too (The Chronicle). With both teams battling relegation in their respective league, the Portuguese can help them in their attacking play but a move to North London might prove to be too big an ask.
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Hence, Unai Emery should give up on Gelson Martins and look for options elsewhere to solve his wing problems.
