Arsenal have been given a confidence boost in their pursuit of Jackson Martinez with the player revealing that, although his future is unclear, he would like to play for the North London side, according to The London Evening Standard.
Colombia and Porto striker Jackson Martinez has revealed he would jump at the chance to join Arsenal.
Yesterday the player said that:
“As a child I cheered for Arsenal, they play a game that suits me. If I had the occasion to play there, I would say yes.”
The clinical striker, who joined Porto in 2012, has netted 60 times in 91 appearances in all competitions for the Portuguese club.
The Colombian is also part of his national side’s squad for The World Cup. Although he hasn’t started every game in Brazil he has still made a significant impact, scoring two goals for his country.
With Arsene Wenger currently in Brazil working as a pundit for French television the manager should be able to get a good look at the player if he plays in the quarter-final against Brazil at the weekend. Any deal though would likely have to wait until after The World Cup has concluded, as players focus their attention on their national duties.
Arsenal are in the market for a striker following the departure of Niklas Bendtner at the end of the season. This means Wenger only has Yaya Sanogo and Olivier Giroud as established strikers. Joel Campbell, who has put in a number of impressive performances at The World Cup, may also return to The Emirates but he has no Premier League experience.
Although Giroud had a good season in terms of goals, he has been highlighted as a potential weakness in the Arsenal side. His natural playing style is suited to being a target man, with strength to hold up the ball. However, his lack of pace means he cannot stretch defences and open up space for the more creative players in the squad.
Martinez would certainly remedy this problem and would add a new dimension to The Gunner’s attack.
