The agent of Manchester United ace Anthony Martial has revealed that Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger passed on the chance of signing his client.
Martial has scored three goals in two Premier League appearances for Manchester United since his arrival at the start of the month, with this goal on his debut against Liverpool arguably the pick of the bunch.
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The 19-year-old also bagged a goal in the League Cup win over Ipswich Town at Old Trafford on Wednesday night, and so he is arguably proving that he can score goals consistently for Louis van Gaal.
However, Philippe Lamboley has revealed that Wenger was monitoring the former Monaco star from an early age and passed on the opportunity to sign him because he believed that he was more of a winger rather than a centre-forward, which was what he was looking for.
“Anthony is a true modern centre-forward who can play a part. I am surprised by the analysis of Arsene Wenger, who has apparently been following him since he was a teenager,” he said, according to Sky Sports.
“If the analysis Arsene Wenger has made is in order to justify not having signed Anthony, I accept he is a winger. But in football, there are those who follow players and those who buy them.”
Given Wenger’s ability to convert Thierry Henry into a striker during his earlier years at the Gunners, it is a surprise that the French tactician didn’t try to similarly mould Martial into the position if he had a genuine chance of signing him earlier on.
Nevertheless, Arsenal’s loss is now undoubtedly United’s gain, although it remains to be seen whether or not the youngster can continue to make a consistent impact or whether this is merely still a honeymoon period for him at Old Trafford.
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