The rise of Emiliano Martinez

Emiliano Martinez continues to show his quality on the big stage as he helps Argentina to their first Copa America title in 28 years.

The 28-year-old became the first player from Argentina to win the Golden Glove at the tournament, keeping four clean sheets including one in the final. His performance in the semi-final was vital for La Albiceleste as he saved three penalties in a shootout against Colombia.

After joining Arsenal in 2010, Martinez was loaned out six times to clubs such as Reading, Wolves, and Sheffield Wednesday. Struggling to make an impression, the highest number of league appearances the keeper made during any of his loan spells was 18 at Reading.

When the Gunners played Brighton in June 2020 during Project Restart, first-choice keeper Bernd Leno was injured after colliding with Neal Maupay. Leno suffered a season-ending injury, giving Martinez the chance he had waited ten years for.

Although there were only nine league games left in the season, Arsenal were still in the FA Cup and had the chance to salvage what had been a very poor season. Mikel Arteta trusted Martinez with the role and it paid off for the Spaniard.

The Argentine started all nine remaining league games along with every cup fixture on their way to lifting the trophy. He was an important factor in Arsenal improving their record against ‘Top 6’ teams, a record which had haunted fans for many seasons.

Then league champions Liverpool visited the Emirates on their mission to break the record for most points in a league season. Arsenal took a 2-1 lead in the first half, forcing them to sit back for the remaining 45 minutes. Martinez made huge saves during this game including a late stunner to stop Trent Alexander-Arnold from equalising.

Martinez also kept a clean sheet in the FA Cup semi-final against Manchester City, causing a massive upset as Pep Guardiola’s side were massive favourites going into the game. He then continued this form in the final against Chelsea as he lifted his first FA Cup with the club.

In the lead-up to the 2020/21 season, Arsenal chose to keep Leno as their first-choice keeper, leading to Martinez asking for a move away so he could continue to show the world his talent. He ended up joining Aston Villa for a fee of £20 million.

He started perfectly as he saved a penalty during his debut in a 1-0 victory over Sheffield United. The previous season, the Villains avoided relegation on the final day but the signing of Martinez seemed to change their fortunes as they attempted to push for a European spot before the injury of Jack Grealish.

Martinez kept 15 clean sheets in the league in his first season, equalling Brad Friedel’s record for Villa. He played all 38 league games for the first time and his clean sheet tally was the third-best in the league, only behind Ederson and Edouard Mendy. What made this even more impressive was that he also ranked third for saves made, whereas the City and Blues keeper finished 18th and 20th on the list respectively.

These performances over the past season led to Martinez being named Aston Villa’s Player of the Season and he earned his first national team call-up.

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