Former England international Trevor Sinclair has criticised Arsenal's transfer strategy, citing the sale of former Gunners goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez as a perfect example of the club's incompetence.
The Argentine shot-stopper spent ten years at the Emirates Stadium but struggled for consistent minutes between the sticks, spending six seasons out on loan before sealing a permanent move to Aston Villa last summer.
Martinez has thrived at Villa Park, keeping an impressive 15 Premier League clean sheets last season before enjoying an extremely productive Copa America tournament in which he conceded just three goals across seven fixtures, including some penalty heroics, as Argentina clinched their first major trophy since 1993.
The Gunners have struggled to effectively replace the 28-year-old, with Icelandic international Runar Alex Runarsson clearly not at the required level and experienced keeper Mat Ryan returning to Brighton last month after his loan deal in north London expired.
Sheffield United's Aaron Ramsdale has been touted as a potential arrival in recent weeks, as football.london understands that Arsenal are looking for a home-grown goalkeeper to challenge Bernd Leno ahead of next season, with West Brom's Sam Johnstone also linked.
However, Sinclair has been left bemused with the north London club's pursuit of Ramsdale, arguing Martinez should have never been sold in the first place.
"Listen, I don't get it," Sinclair told talkSPORT.
"We've said before, Emi Martinez going to Villa – why? He was playing superbly well for Arsenal. They've allowed their best goalkeeper to leave and now they are chasing their tail trying to get someone in to give competition for Leno.
"I just don't understand how Arsenal is being run as a football club.
"For me, that Emi Martinez one should have never gone through. I know he wanted to play, but let those two goalkeepers play it out for the No.1 jersey and keep it honest."
The sale of Martinez did however help fund the Gunners' deadline-day swoop for Ghanaian midfielder Thomas Partey, who joined for £45million from Atletico Madrid in October.
Partey will be hoping he can take advantage of a full pre-season in England after enduring an injury-hit debut campaign at the Emirates.
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