OPINION
Arsenal fans hoping for a major summer transfer market splurge are going to have to think again.
Whispers of a pundy budget for Unai Emery have gathered force with a report in the Sun that he will have just £40million at his disposal if, as seems likely, the Gunners fail to get in the Champions League.
It is said that Arsenal are so “skint” they can’t afford to pay to replace retiring goalkeeper Petr Cech and will instead promoted loaned-out Emiliano Martinez to the number two position.
Given that the Argentine is currently on loan at Championship club Reading and has made just 14 appearances for the Londoners during nearly a decade at the club, the hearts of many fans will surely sink.
Martinez is not, and never has been, the answer for a Premier League club and his lack of full international caps also speaks volumes.
Since joining from Independiente in 2010, the keeper has had loan stints at Oxford United, Sheffield Wednesday, Rotherham United, Wolves and Getafe and now Reading.
What happens if Bernd Leno, hardly a watertight number one in any case, gets injured or needs to be given a breather?
Martinez is at an age where he still has plenty of time on his side for a goalkeeper, but it is massively telling that he has been ignored for so long.
It is also a measure of the lack of ambition at Arsenal, who are no better off now than they were while treading water for long under Arsene Wenger.
Emery is doing the job with one hand tied behind his back.