'New contact' made between Arsenal and Ajax defender as Mikel Arteta continues squad rebuild

Arsenal are moving quickly in the transfer window as Mikel Arteta continues the process of rebuilding the squad into one that represents his identity. Fabio Vieira was officially unveiled as an Arsenal player earlier this week, signed from Porto for a fee believed to be in the region of £34 million.

The Portugal U21 international is the Gunners' second signing of the 2022 summer transfer window following the acquisition of Marquinhos, who has penned a four-year deal at the Emirates.

All eyes are now on whether the club can strengthen other areas within the squad, one of which is the backline, with the north Londoners continuing to be linked with Ajax defender Lisandro Martinez, who is also a target for Manchester United.

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Arsenal have already had a £25.7million bid rejected but this hasn't stopped the club from pushing heavily for a deal to be reached with the Dutch club and Fabrizio Romano has now stated that the club have made fresh contact with the Argentinian's agent.

"Arsenal want Lisandro Martinez. They had new contacts with his agent in the last 48 hours. Let's see if Arsenal will decide to complete the negotiation," he said to Qué Golazo Podcast.

Essentially, Martinez ticks multiple boxes within the current first team, since the 24-year-old offers plenty of versatility, capable as he is of playing at centre-back, left-back and in midfield.

The quality he possesses on the ball makes him a very attractive option for Arteta, who places huge importance on fluid build-up play from the back.

It certainly will be interesting to see how this move develops over the coming days and whether Arsenal do manage to get this deal over