Ajax CEO Van der Sar reveals brutal message they sent to Arsenal in Lisandro Martinez negotiations

Ajax CEO Edwin Van der Sar has confirmed that Arsenal were interested in signing Lisandro Martinez in the summer.

Speaking about how talks went and derailed, he told The Athletic: “Arsenal came earlier for Lisandro, but it was an amount where we said, ‘Thank you very much for the offer, but we’d rather keep the player than start negotiating’.

“With United, it was a little bit different. Over the years we have had a few conversations: Daley Blind, Donny van de Beek. My job is making sure I make the best decisions for Ajax.”

Martinez ended up joining Man United and has helped improve their defensive structure. However, Arsenal haven’t really regretted not getting him as they signed Oleksander Zinchenko – who has been a solid player for Mikel Arteta’s side.

Moreover, the emergence of William Saliba has helped Arsenal maintain a brilliant defensive record – only conceding 11 goals in 14 Premier League games – and sitting atop of the league table.

Source: The Athletic