Porto striker Jackson Martinez has revealed that he’s a lifelong Arsenal fan and would jump at the chance to play for a club like the Gunners.
The 27 year old forward has scored an impressive 12 goals from 14 appearances so far this term, but will unlikely be available for anything less than his £32 million buyout clause.
The Colombian international told reporters he supported Arsenal growing up as child and is full of admiration for club’s philosophy under Arsene Wenger.
According to Metro, he said:
I cheered for Arsenal when I was a kid – I love their style of play.
It’s flowing and open with a lot of first touch passes. It would be suitable for a player like me. If I get a chance to play for a high level club like Arsenal I wouldn’t hesitate to accept it.
The Porto ace has been stalling on a new contract, and the report further claims that the striker is all but set to leave the club either in the next few weeks or this upcoming summer.
Martinez started his career with Independiente Medellin and after few successful several years there, he moved to Chiapas in Mexico and continued his goal scoring form. In his last season at Chiapas, he managed to score 20 goals from 41 appearances, which caught the eye of Porto. He has been hugely successful since, scoring 49 goals in 64 appearances for the Portuguese side.
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He is a striker who is technically sound and can link up well with the midfielders. His movement, his accuracy and his awareness have all improved massively in the past year. He also has the ability to score from long range shots and although he’s never played in the Premier League, his incredible strength combined with his pace and ability to score could combine to devastating effect in North London.
Arsenal have been heavily reliant on Olivier Giroud this term but a minor injury to the Frenchman forced Wenger to restore Nicklas Bendtner to the first team set-up who sustained an injury when scoring the crucial goal against Cardiff. The Gunners badly need striking reinforcements this January to make sure their title push isn’t derailed. Martinez may not be the most well known striker nor be of the highest quality, however he has proven both in Portugal that he could certainly do a job with another team in Europe.
The statement definitely sounds like a come and get me plea but it remains to be seen whether Wenger would want to pay that much on a 27 year old who is hardly a superstar. However, if the Gunners can succeed in securing the player than it would only add to our chances of regaining silverware this season.
Should we sign Martinez? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
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