Arsenal suffers a blow after attempting to sign a "top striker" but failing to secure him before the Premier League transfer deadline.
On 3 September 2026, the British Daily Mail reported that Arsenal, the English Premier League champions, made a major move to strengthen their squad in the final hours of the summer transfer window on the night of 1 September.
The report stated that Gabriel Heinze, Arsenal's Argentine assistant coach, contacted Lautaro Martinez, the fellow Argentine striker of Inter Milan, the Italian Serie A giant, to gauge his interest in moving to play in the Premier League.
However, Arsenal was immediately rejected by Inter Milan, and Lautaro Martinez remains happy at the club, beloved by Inter fans. His children attend school in Italy, and he runs a restaurant business there. He had previously turned down Barcelona's attempts to sign him.
Arsenal has continuously sought to sign a top striker in this summer's Premier League transfer window after letting Leandro Trossard go to Besiktas, Gabriel Jesus to Barcelona, and Gabriel Martinelli to Al Hilal, but failed to secure any of them.
At present, Arsenal only has left-wing forward Christos Tsolis, signed from Club Brugge this summer. Manager Mikel Arteta’s backup options for this position are limited to Eberechi Eze and Noni Madueke, who have been adapted to play in this role.
