Arsenal could break the bank with a mammoth €120m (£100.1m) bid for Inter Milan striker Lautaro Martinez during the summer transfer window, according to a report.
Despite Mikel Arteta insisting several times that the Gunners were after offensive reinforcements in the January transfer market, the North London giants failed to bring in a single new face last month.
Arsenal's decision to wait until the summer has already backfired, as Gabriel Martinelli suffered a hamstring injury in Wednesday's 2-0 EFL Cup semi-final second-leg loss to Newcastle United, which sealed a 4-0 aggregate defeat for the Gunners.
Already missing Gabriel Jesus (knee) and Bukayo Saka (hamstring) with their long-term concerns, Arsenal's attacking options are now limited to Kai Havertz, Ethan Nwaneri, Raheem Sterling and Leandro Trossard, as well as youth products such as Ismeal Kabia and Nathan Butler-Oyedeji.
After putting their striker transfer plans on ice for a couple of windows, Arsenal are expected to go all out for a new number nine in the summer, when Fichajes claims that Martinez could be the subject of a nine-figure bid.
Arsenal 'set sights' on mammoth Martinez deal
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Arsenal are apparently prepared to present a mammoth £100.1m proposal to Inter Milan to strike a deal for Martinez, which would represent their second-biggest transfer of all time, only behind Declan Rice's £105m transfer in 2023.
The Argentina international is said to have been earmarked as a 'great desire' of Arsenal head coach Arteta, and should Arsenal submit an offer north of £100m, Inter may find it difficult to resist their advances.
After much speculation, Martinez signed a contract extension at San Siro until 2029 in August, but the report adds that his camp have not ruled out a future transfer to the Premier League.
The 27-year-old arrived in Milan for a relatively modest £20.9m from Argentinian outfit Racing Club in 2018, since when he has amassed 144 goals and 49 assists in 313 matches for Inter across all competitions.
That tally includes 15 goals and six assists from 31 appearances in the 2024-25 campaign, during which Martinez captained Inter to a 1-0 Champions League league phase win over Arsenal in November.
What other strikers are Arsenal targeting?
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A move for a striker of Martinez's calibre is exactly what Gooners will be expecting after the board's refusal to pursue a prolific striker either last summer or in January, although at 27 years old, he may already be in the prime of his career or about to hit it.
The same can be said for Sporting Lisbon's Viktor Gyokeres and Napoli's Victor Osimhen - both 26 - while Alexander Isak is 25 but is unlikely to be sold by Newcastle United for anything under £120m.
Instead, RB Leipzig's Benjamin Sesko - who is just 21 - would represent a better long-term investment for Arsenal, who were in hot pursuit of the Slovenian last summer before he decided to renew his Roten Bullen contract.
The Slovenia international is still expected to be allowed to leave should an interested party stump up a suitable offer, though, and it should not take a nine-figure sum to prise him away from Leipzig this summer.
Ben Knapton
