Arsenal have reportedly cooled their interest in signing Ajax centre-back Lisandro Martinez amid interest from Manchester United.
The two Premier League clubs have been involved in a two-horse race to sign the Argentine, who has told Ajax that he wants to move to the English top flight.
Man United boss Erik ten Hag worked with Martinez during his time in Amsterdam, and the defender won Ajax's Player of the Year award last season under the Dutchman.
Martinez was also said to have been tempted by the prospect of working under Mikel Arteta, leaving Arsenal "extremely confident" of sealing his signature, according to journalist Ben Jacobs.
"Martinez himself made it very clear to Ajax that he wanted to move to the Premier League. Man United sources reveal that Ten Hag is pushing very hard, he is the priority, much more so than Antony and maybe even more than [Frenkie] De Jong," Jacobs told the Football Terrace.
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"However, the twist is that Arsenal are also extremely confident. The challenge for Man United coming in late was that Arsenal were always going to be more advanced. Martinez was also very sold on talking to Arteta.
"Arteta has taken a much more active, direct role in this transfer window than in previous ones; he's been calling players, pitching the club directly and co-selling with Edu, and it's working to some extent."
However, Goal now claims that the Gunners have taken a step back from pursuing the former Defensa Central man after seeing multiple offers rejected by Ajax.
As a result, Man United are now the frontrunners to sign the 24-year-old and are in constant dialogue with Ajax, who are holding out for a fee of €50m (£42.3m).
Neither side has had a bid accepted by the Eredivisie champions, though, and Arsenal have not totally ruled themselves out of the running to sign Martinez before the window shuts.
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Martinez has amassed six goals and six assists in 118 games for Ajax across all tournaments, winning two Eredivisie titles, one KNVB-Beker and one Dutch Super Cup since 2019.
Arsenal were believed to have been interested in using Martinez at left-back, whereas Ten Hag expects the Argentine to operate in the heart of defence or in midfield.
The Gunners were strongly linked with a move for Martinez amid speculation surrounding Nuno Tavares's future after the 22-year-old's hit-and-miss first season in North London.
Tavares is understood to have been attracting interest from numerous clubs across Europe, with Marseille keen to take the left-back on loan for the 2022-23 season.
The Portuguese was thrown into regular first-team action last term during Kieran Tierney's time out injured, but the Scotland international played 30 minutes of Friday's 5-3 friendly win over Nuremberg during his first game back from knee surgery.
Ben Knapton
