Arsenal reportedly rejected two different Barcelona players in a swap offer for Gabriel Martinelli as Mikel Arteta considers the forward ‘untouchable’.
Barcelona were hot on the trail of Athletic Bilbao star Nico Williams during the summer but were knocked back by the winger, who instead committed his future to the Basque club.
Hansi Flick is still keen on signing a new left winger though and a report in Spain claims Martinelli – who has been in the Barcelona ‘spotlight’ for some time – was ‘the main Plan B’.
The Catalans are strapped for cash and so offered two different players in exchange.
Ferran Torres, who joined Barcelona from Manchester City for £45m in January 2022, was at one stage thought to be on Mikel Arteta’s radar and the forward was ‘seduced’ by the chance to work under the Spanish boss.
But at the point he was offered to the Gunners, during the summer transfer window, the move was ‘completely ruled out’ as the club ‘do not consider him to be at the necessary level to be able to help the team’.
A more attractive proposition to Arsenal is said to have been former Chelsea defender Andreas Christensen as Arteta ‘wants more alternatives in defence’ and views the Denmark international as ‘a very interesting reinforcement’ owing to his ‘versatility and experience’.
Arsenal ‘maintain an important interest’ in Christensen – whose contract expires in 2026 – but they ‘didn’t consider the idea of an exchange’ for Martinelli, as Arteta and the Gunners chief consider the Brazilian ‘untouchable’ despite his patchy form of late
