Emiliano Martinez signs for Aston Villa in £20 million deal
Emiliano Martinez has completed his transfer from Arsenal to Aston Villa for £20 million.
The Argentine signed for Arsenal in 2010 from Independiente. Prior to his move to Villa, he was the longest serving Arsenal player in the current squad. He made 39 appearances for the North London side and spent much of his time with the club out on loan.
During his time at Arsenal, he was loaned out to Oxford United, Sheffield Wednesday, Rotherham United, Wolves, Getafe and Reading in order to grow as a goalkeeper and return to North London in a better position to fight for a place in the first team.
Martinez was Arsenal’s substitute goalkeeper going into the 2019/20 season. He played in the domestic cups and Europa League while Leno, the club’s first choice goalkeeper, played in the Premier League.
The German keeper suffered an injury in the game against Brighton soon after the resumption of the Premier League after it was suspended due to the pandemic. This injury ended his season. Martinez stepped in to deputise for him. The Argentine performed admirably and was one of Arsenal’s standout players in the last six weeks of the season.
Martinez started the North London club’s last eight Premier League games of the season. Arsenal won five, lost just two and kept three clean sheets. He starred for the Gunners in the FA Cup that they eventually won for a record fourteenth time by beating Chelsea 2-1 in the final.
He started in the Community Shield victory over Liverpool and put in another impressive performance. Martinez made it clear that he wanted regular game time in order to achieve his dream of being Argentina’s first choice goalkeeper. This led to his decision to leave North London for Aston Villa.
The 28 year old stepped up when the club needed him most and excelled. Good luck at Aston Villa and thanks for the memories, Emi!
