Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has admitted his surprise over Ligue 1 side Monaco after they informed him that Anthony Martial, whom they sold to Manchester United during the summer, was not for sale.
No official bid was ever lodged for the Frenchman, as they were informed that no sum of money would make him leave Monaco. Martial has proven critics wrong, shaking off his overpriced tag to run riot in the Premier League, scoring three goals so far this season.
Wenger has admitted his surprise at Martial’s transfer, and admitted that he thought Monaco would keep to their word. He also revealed that he had been a fan of the teenager since his time with Lyon.
I was surprised they sold him.
The amount of money was massive. I believe that you could think that, if you are Monaco, you could have sold him as well next season.
So I thought they would not sell him this year because they sold many other players.
I thought they would maintain their word. He was not sellable. He was not on the list. He was one of the players Monaco did not want to sell, so we never made an approach for him.
Only an acceptable amount of money after could do it. We always liked him, even when he was in Lyon.
Martial made 68 appearances for Monaco before he was snapped up by the Red Devils, and hit the back of the net 15 times during his spell of just over two years with the French side.
Wenger’s Arsenal will come up against Martial when they face Manchester United on Sunday.
