Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag has revealed that Lisandro Martinez "would have gone to Arsenal" after he revealed the details of a phone call he had with the defender before joining the club.
Martinez was one of six new arrivals at United over the summer, with Ten Hag spending £225million in the first phase of his rebuild. The former Ajax manager was eager for the Eredivisie star to come with him to Old Trafford, with the 24-year-old fast becoming a fan favourite in his first few months as a Red.
The Argentinian has been dominant with every performance he has put in while wearing a United shirt. The growing partnership between himself and Raphael Varane has flourished on the pitch - with Ten Hag favouring the pair as his first-choice centre-backs.
ALSO READ: 'A bit of a joke' - Man United star Scott McTominay addresses Alejandro Garnacho bullying claims
And now the United manager has revealed that Martinez even called him before making the move to Manchester, explaining that Arsenal were also interested in signing the World Cup winner.
Ten Hag told Dutch outlet VI : "If I found it hard to take Martinez away from Ajax? I had such a great time there, the way we build a project. Out of nowhere we brought Ajax back to European top level. But Martinez himself wanted to leave. If we didn't take him, he would have gone to Arsenal.
"At a certain point, Lisandro Martinez called me up and said: 'Coach, listen, I will leave Ajax no matter what. I can sign for Arsenal, but if you want me, I will go to Manchester United."
Antony followed Martinez from Amsterdam to Manchester, as Ten Hag also revealed that the Dutch club knew the 22-year-old would leave the club - and that United were already interested in signing the winger before he took charge at Old Trafford.
He added: "Antony's departure couldn't have been a surprise for Ajax. In January they already knew he would leave in the summer. We had three names on the list for the right forward position, he was already on the list at Manchester United before I arrived.
"Antony's management was very clear to Ajax [in January]. They said: 'In six months' time, Antony will make a transfer'. Then we started working on getting another Brazilian in to replace Antony, and Steven Bergwijn."
READ NEXT:
