3 reasons why Lisandro Martinez is the perfect signing for Arsenal

Fabio Vieira</a>, which is just about done, accelerated talks with Gabriel Jesus, and now a<a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2022/06/18/3-reasons-lisandro-martinez-perfect-signing-arsenal/"https://paininthearsenal.com/2022/06/18/arsenal-bid-rejected-rejected-lisandro-martinez/"> bid for Lisandro Martinez</a>.</p> <p>Arsenal needs to bring players in for squad depth ahead of the new season as Europe is on the table for the first time in two years.</p> <h2>3 reasons why Lisandro Martinez is the perfect signing for Arsenal.</h2> <p>The Argentine defender could be a Swiss army knife for the Gunners if a deal is reached to poach him from Ajax.</p> <h2>1. Extremely versatile</h2> <p>The 24-year-old defender will quickly become a fan favourite at the Emirates. His ability to play in multiple positions will appeal to not only Mikel Arteta but also the Arsenal fanbase.</p> <p>Equally adept at playing in the centre of defence, where he spent most of his time last season, Martinez can also fill in at left-back (a perfect backup option for Kieran Tierney). On top of that, the 24-year-old has also been known to play as a defensive midfielder.</p> <p>https://twitter.com/Mbariis/status/1537881258079899650?s=20&#038;t=_Ud28XK15OWt2D3RTUGwFg</p> <p>That ticks three boxes for Arsenal. Given the current state of the squad, several positions need strengthening. Whether a first-teamer or a backup, Martinez will help three positions if he is signed.</p> <p>Nuno Tavares and Rob Holding can&rsquo;t be the next ones up if Tierney or Gabriel/White do go down with an injury. There is William Saliba, who should be next in line, but as far as full-backs go, the Gunners need serious reinforcements, and Martinez fits the bill perfectly.</p> <p><em>Continued on next slide&#8230;</em></p> <div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background: #c01f2f" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2022/06/18/3-reasons-lisandro-martinez-perfect-signing-arsenal/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span>&nbsp;#2 Reason Why Martinez is Perfect for Arsenal </a> </div><!—pageview_candidate—><hr id="pagebreak"><div id="attachment_127018" class="wp-caption aligncenter"> <img decoding="async" class="wp-image-127018 size-full" src=https://paininthearsenal.com/2022/06/18/3-reasons-lisandro-martinez-perfect-signing-arsenal/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_2133,w_3200/https%3A%2F%2Fpaininthearsenal.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2017%2F07%2F1240050993.jpeg" alt="" width="3200" height="2133" srcset="https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1240050993.jpeg 3200w, https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1240050993-768x512.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 3200px) 100vw, 3200px"><div class="fs-center-img"> <p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:3200px;">The Argentine excels in possession. (Photo by Rico Brouwer/Soccrates/Getty Images)</p> </div> </div> <h2>2. Technically sound, ball-playing defender</h2> <p>A prerequisite for any Arsenal player is to be cool, calm, and assured with the ball at their feet. Given how Mikel Arteta wants the Gunners to play out from the back at times, being assured in possession is paramount.</p> <p>Anyone who googled Martinez since the news dropped will know that the defender is a slick customer. His ability to ping diagonal passes 45+ yards for Ajax was beautiful. Technically, Martinez is outstanding.</p> <div class="embed "> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true"> <p lang="en" dir="ltr">Lisandro Martinez is the real deal man. Especially on the ball – calm under pressure but his best attribute is lofted balls over the top in-behind the back-line. </p> <p>Martinelli &amp; Saka will thrive because of the off-ball runs they make coming from wide.<a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2022/06/18/3-reasons-lisandro-martinez-perfect-signing-arsenal/"https://t.co/OHVFuMLSom">pic.twitter.com/OHVFuMLSom

<p>— Matthew (@_halfspaces) <a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2022/06/18/3-reasons-lisandro-martinez-perfect-signing-arsenal/"https://twitter.com/_halfspaces/status/1537921185664536580?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%22>June 17, 2022</a></p></blockquote> <p><script async src=https://paininthearsenal.com/2022/06/18/3-reasons-lisandro-martinez-perfect-signing-arsenal/"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></div> <p>As we saw with Alexandre Lacazette’s goal against Southampton, the way the team can build up an attack from defence is one of its strengths, and Martinez will have no problem with his one-touch passing, creating neat little triangles, and feeding the ball into the likes of Martin Odegaard and Thomas Partey all day long.</p> <p>In Martinez, Arsenal will have another superb ball-playing defender at its disposal.</p> <p><em>Continued on next slide…</em></p> <div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background: #c01f2f" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2022/06/18/3-reasons-lisandro-martinez-perfect-signing-arsenal/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> Reason #3 Why Martinez is Perfect for Arsenal </a> </div><!—pageview_candidate—><hr id="pagebreak"><div id="attachment_127019" class="wp-caption aligncenter"> <img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="wp-image-127019 size-full" src=https://paininthearsenal.com/2022/06/18/3-reasons-lisandro-martinez-perfect-signing-arsenal/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_2080,w_3200/https%3A%2F%2Fpaininthearsenal.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2017%2F07%2F1385611564.jpeg" alt="" width="3200" height="2080" srcset="https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1385611564.jpeg 3200w, https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1385611564-768x499.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 3200px) 100vw, 3200px"><div class="fs-center-img"> <p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:3200px;">The defender has played in the Champions League with Ajax. (Photo by John Berry/Getty Images)</p> </div> </div> <h2>3. He’s experienced</h2> <p>At just 24 years old, Martinez is an experienced campaigner having played 36 times in all competitions for Ajax last season – 24 of those in the league and eight in the Champions League.</p> <p>Not only that but Martinez is also capped by the Argentine national team. While only appearing seven times, it is still valuable experience that could prove telling.</p> <div class="embed "> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true"> <p lang="en" dir="ltr">In 2021/22, Lisandro Martínez ranked in the 95th percentile of centre-backs for passes into the final third and possession won in the middle third per 90 minutes.<a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2022/06/18/3-reasons-lisandro-martinez-perfect-signing-arsenal/"https://twitter.com/muhammadbutt?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%22>@muhammadbutt 🤝 Mikel Arteta.</p> <p>— Squawka (@Squawka) <a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2022/06/18/3-reasons-lisandro-martinez-perfect-signing-arsenal/"https://twitter.com/Squawka/status/1537847580159270918?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%22>June 17, 2022</a></p></blockquote> <p><script async src=https://paininthearsenal.com/2022/06/18/3-reasons-lisandro-martinez-perfect-signing-arsenal/"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></div> <p>For the 2020/21 campaign with Ajax, the defender featured 42 times in all competitions, again in the Champions League and Europa League. He also managed it the previous two years. All up, three years of Champions League experience to call upon in the Premier League is something that shouldn’t be overlooked.</p> <div class="embed "> <blockquote class="wp-embedded-content" data-secret="2hXo1ddRQt"><p><a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2022/06/18/3-reasons-lisandro-martinez-perfect-signing-arsenal/"https://paininthearsenal.com/2022/06/17/5-arsenals-biggest-fixtures-2022-23-premier-league-season/">5 of Arsenal’s biggest fixtures in the 2022/23 Premier League season</a></p></blockquote> <p><iframe class="wp-embedded-content" sandbox="allow-scripts" security="restricted" style="position: absolute; clip: rect(1px, 1px, 1px, 1px);" src=https://paininthearsenal.com/2022/06/18/3-reasons-lisandro-martinez-perfect-signing-arsenal/"https://paininthearsenal.com/2022/06/17/5-arsenals-biggest-fixtures-2022-23-premier-league-season/embed/#?secret=2hXo1ddRQt" data-secret="2hXo1ddRQt" width="500" height="282" title="“5 of Arsenal’s biggest fixtures in the 2022/23 Premier League season” — Pain in the Arsenal" frameborder="0" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no"></iframe></p></div> <p>Last season, we saw the effect of inexperience as it cost Arsenal a top-four spot. Out of the current squad, only a handful of players have Champions League exposure and are equipped to deal with such pressure. Martinez is another one to add to the list.</p><!—pageview_candidate—>">