Manchester United have turned down a bid from Arsenal for Anthony Martial, with the Gunners reportedly keen to sign the Frenchman in January.

According to TMW, United have rejected Arsenal’s first offer for Martial. The Express claim that the Gunners want to get a deal done in January and could make a second approach.

I’d expect Arsenal to have significant difficulties trying to sign Martial, given his fantastic form this season and the inflated price English clubs have to pay for domestic talent. Just this summer, we saw Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain join Liverpool for £40m and Kyle Walker join Manchester City for £50m.

However, I believe the biggest stumbling block will be on account of his performances for the Red Devils. While Martial has made just one start in the Premier League, he’s still scored and created five goals in six appearances.

He’s proving a good outlet from the bench, and United manager Jose Mourinho continues to give him minutes in games, suggesting he’s happy to have him in the squad. I feel international prospects might help Arsenal in their pursuit to sign the former Monaco forward.

If Martial is to have any chance of breaking into the French national team before the 2018 World Cup next summer, he’ll presumably need to start a bit more often for United.

At Arsenal, he would become a regular in the attack, in my opinion. If he’s replacing Alexis Sanchez as an inside forward, Martial is definitely better than the rest of Arsenal’s options. The Gunners might have to pay a hefty sum to convince Mourinho to sell, however.