Transfer News:
Unai Emery is all set to bring in a new set of ideologies and will definitely look to sign more players having the capability of following his tactical philosophy. The squad should be set for a mini-revamp of sorts and hence a recent report from the Express that Arsenal would be interested in acquiring the services of Portuguese lad Gelson Martins comes as no surprise.
Gelson currently plays for Sporting CP and is a part of the national squad that has traveled to Russia for the World Cup. He was a regular for Sporting CP in the Portuguese league last season and sparked transfer rumours due to his impressive performances coming from the flanks.
Player Profile
Martins is a very quick winger, capable of storming in from the flank and beating his marker with an explosive burst of pace. The rapid changes in his speed when coming in from the wider areas make it difficult to contain him from cutting inside and taking a shot at goal. There can be plenty of improvement in his finishing though, as Martins has to make sure that he enhances his efficiency in front of the goal.
He has a fair share of tricks up his sleeve and can get the ball out from cramped situations with some neat footwork too. For his national team, Martins has been used mostly as an impact sub, as his ability to increase the tempo of the game could see the match turning in his team’s favour. According to Whoscored, Martins played 31 matches in the Portuguese league last season and scored eight goals and registered eight assists.
Gelson’s neat footwork is highlighted by the stat that he completed 2.6 successful dribbles on an average per game in the domestic league. He also delivered 1.5 key passes, which further reiterates his constant involvement in the team’s attacking endeavours. Martins’ tenacity enabled him to complete 1.4 tackles in each game too, a good enough indication of defensive contribution for a primarily attacking player.
Should Arsenal make a move?
It does sound to be an interesting transfer rumour, but why would Arsenal want to beef up their attacking personnel even more? Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang already added a lot of quality to the forward line. Moreover, this has given the manager a big selection headache already, with even Mesut Ozil favouring to play from the right-wing at times.
Reiss Nelson has emerged as a good enough versatile option for the team and the Gunners have a lot of problems to take care at the back, rather than the attacking line. It is unlikely that Arsenal would go ahead with this transfer, whilst ignoring the other glitches in their squad.