Arsenal made a double scouting mission in Portugal this weekend.
First in the North, they watched Sporting’s away clash against Boavista. The Lions won it with a goal scored by Dutch striker Bas Dost and are now in second place in the table.
According to A Bola, Arsenal scouts were there especially to watch the winger Gelson Martins.
The 21-year-old is the big prospect in Portugal this season, having his name linked to several European clubs. It was natural that Arsenal would be added to the list soon enough, and they join others including Manchester United, Manchester City, real Madrid and Barcelona.
Usefully for the transfer rumours, Gelson Martins put in another good performance.He’s currently negotiating a new contract and the newspaper now claims that the release clause should go from €60m to €100m.
After the Gelson Martins show, Arsenal went to Lisbon, where they saw the leaders Benfica keeping themselves on top of the table after beating Moreirense 3-0.
Benfica winger Pizzi was chosen the man of the match after scoring a brace.
Ljubomir Fejsa, Eduardo Salvio and Franco Cervi all had a good match for the red side as well.
Arsenal frequently watch Benfica’s games, even though their targets aren’t really clear.
The Gunners have recently been linked to the fullbacks Nelson Semedo and Alex Grimaldo, but the rumours never had a big development.
Given that Arsenal also regularly scout Porto, the likeliest scenario is that they’re just looking generally, to see who may be an option in the future.
