One of Arteta’s coaches tried to convince surprise name to seal Arsenal transfer

Arsenal coach Gabriel Heinze reportedly made a surprise call last week to try to convince Inter Milan striker Lautaro Martinez to join the club.

The Argentina international has shone for Inter, but he’s not generally been a name that strongly linked with Arsenal or any other Premier League clubs in recent times.

Still, it’s now emerged that the Gunners had some interest in Martinez as they looked for a solution to their issues up front.

During their pursuit of Julian Alvarez, it seems Mikel Arteta’s assistant Heinze also reached out to Martinez about a possible move to the Emirates Stadium, according to the Daily Mail.

Could Lautaro Martinez have done a job for Arsenal?

Martinez has spent most of his career at Inter, and given the standards of Serie A these days, it’s hard to know how his performances there would translate to English football.

The Italian top flight is not what it used to be, though Martinez still has impressive numbers that should surely mean he’s worth considering for a club in the market for a signing up front.

The 29-year-old has a record of 175 goals in 378 games for Inter, and he’s helped himself to three Serie A titles in that time.

One imagines there could have been a role for him at Arsenal, but he’s not necessarily the most obvious upgrade on Kai Havertz and Viktor Gyokeres, so the north London giants might do well to just wait and see if anyone else becomes available in January.

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Arsenal’s surprise lack of signings in attack

Christos Tzolis is Arsenal’s only signing for their front three this summer, despite that looking like an obvious area of weakness.

It’s also the position which has seen the most player exits, with Leandro Trossard and Gabriel Jesus both leaving, while Gabriel Martinelli is expected to follow.

Tzolis should be a good signing for Arsenal’s left flank, but they’re still a little short in that department, and will need Havertz to stay fit more often than he did last season and the year before.

Gyokeres, meanwhile, has been unconvincing during his time with Arsenal, and has been an unused substitute in the Gunners’ first two Premier League games this term.