Arsenal 'willing to pay big money for Inter Milan striker Lautaro Martinez'

Arsenal are reportedly willing to splash the cash to sign Inter Milan striker Lautaro Martinez this summer.

The Gunners are in the running to win their first Premier League title for nearly two decades this season as they currently sit at the top of the table, two points clear of reigning champions Manchester City with a game in hand.

Mikel Arteta has had to cope with limited options in attack in the last few months due to the absence of summer signing Gabriel Jesus, who picked up a knee injury during the 2022 World Cup.

Eddie Nketiah has predominantly featured as the central striker in Jesus's absence, while Gabriel Martinelli and January addition Leandro Trossard have also had fleeting roles down the middle.

Reinforcements in the final third are set to be made ahead of the 2023-24 campaign, and according to GiveMeSport journalist Phil Brown, Inter frontman Martinez has been on Arsenal's radar for some time.

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Brown claims that the Gunners are prepared to spend big on the 25-year-old, who is under contract at San Siro until June 2026.

"Arsenal have been interested in Lautaro for a long time," said Brown as quoted by football.london. "Whether they've actually ever made a firm bid, I'm not sure.

"But certainly, there's been talk of one, and I think he's a player they would be willing to pay quite a lot of money for."

Martinez joined Inter from Argentine outfit Racing Club in the summer of 2018 and he has since established himself as a key player and one of the leading strikers in Serie A.

The 2022 World Cup winner with Argentina has recorded 90 goals and 31 assists in 215 appearances for the Nerazzurri across all competitions, including 16 goals and seven assists in 34 games so far this season.

Martinez has been linked with a big-money move away from San Siro over the last few seasons, but a transfer for the £70m-rated striker has ultimately failed to materialise.

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Inter are all but certain to hand over their Serie A title to Napoli this season, with last weekend's 1-0 defeat at Bologna allowing the Parthenopeans to extend their mammoth lead at the summit to 18 points.

Martinez expressed his disappointment following the loss to Bologna and offered a slight hint to suggest that an exit in the near future could be on the cards.

"It would be wrong to talk too much in the heat of the moment, but the sensation I have right now is that we'll get nowhere playing like this," Martinez told Sky Sport Italia as quoted by The Mirror.

"We need to be more consistent, we just played a great game in the Champions League, we arrive here fired up and then put in this performance.

"We've got to get our heads up and push forward, because we'll get nowhere like this. We are 18 points behind Napoli, so clearly something is not working."

Arsenal are also understood to have joined Liverpool in the race to sign Athletic Bilbao forward Nico Williams, who is facing an uncertain future with the Spanish club as he has less than 18 months remaining on his contract.