Ajax’s chief exec, and former Manchester United goalkeeper, Edwin van der Sar, says that Arsenal were told Lisandro Martinez was not for sale before Manchester United purchased him for £51.63m.

Manchester United's Argentinian defender Lisandro Martinez (L) heads the ball as he fights for it with Tottenham Hotspur's South Korean striker Son Heung-Min (R) during the English Premier League football match between Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur at Old Trafford in Manchester, north west England, on October 19, 2022. (Photo by OLI SCARFF/AFP via Getty Images)
Manchester United’s Argentinian defender Lisandro Martinez (L) heads the ball as he fights for it with Tottenham Hotspur’s South Korean striker Son Heung-Min (R) during the English Premier League football match between Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur at Old Trafford in Manchester, north west England, on October 19, 2022. (Photo by OLI SCARFF/AFP via Getty Images)

It’s no secret that Arsenal were interested in signing Lisandro Martinez from Ajax during the summer. With his former Ajax boss, Erik ten Hag installed at Manchester United, however, it seemed unlikely to happen.

Ajax were reluctant to let Martinez leave for any club but in the end, Manchester United’s offer proved too hard to resist.

Van der Sar said, “It was our opinion they [Martinez and Anthony] should stay for another year.

“We gave a firm ‘no’ to Arsenal when they came first for Lisandro; we fought hard to keep him.”

That all fits with what David Ornstein said about why Arsenal reportedly withdrew from the chase.

Arsenal were indeed keen, despite Ajax saying ‘no’ but Manchester United’s involvement drove the price up too much for Arsenal’s liking.

The Gunners are still said to be keen to sign a left-sided centreback with Eintracht Frankfurt’s Evan Ndicka being linked.

He is out of contract in the summer and could be available for around €15m in January, despite being worth around twice that.