Arsenal keen on Atletico Madrid winger – but the deal is complicated

Arsenal manager Unai Emery wants to bring Gelson Martins to the Emirates Stadium this summer, according to A Bola.

The Portuguese winger has scored three goals in eight Ligue 1 appearances since joining Monaco on loan from Atletico Madrid in January.

Martins only moved to Atletico last summer but didn’t do enough to impress Diego Simeone and was allowed to depart in the mid-season window.

Arsenal are now keen to bring the 23-year-old to north London, although the situation is complicated by the nature of his transfer to Atletico in 2018.

After an incident which saw a group of Sporting CP supporters break into the club’s training ground and assault several players, Martins unilaterally terminated his contract at the Estadio Jose Alvalade.

The Sporting academy graduate joined Atletico soon after, but his former club have demanded compensation in the region of £86m due to a release clause in his deal.

The Spanish side made an offer of £13m but Sporting are holding out for a higher sum, with FIFA currently looking into the case.

Unai Emery wants to renew his interest in a player he tried to sign in January, and Arsenal could try and resolve the impasse by submitting bids to both clubs.

Greg Lea

Greg Lea is a freelance football journalist who's filled in wherever FourFourTwo needs him since 2014. He became a Crystal Palace fan after watching a 1-0 loss to Port Vale in 1998, and once got on the scoresheet in a primary school game against Wilfried Zaha's Whitehorse Manor (an own goal in an 8-0 defeat).