Emi Martinez

[Brwned]

How can a player who looks this good have only broken through at 27?

I figured he was only a little older than Henderson and last year was his breakthrough season, so it's amazing to me he could barely get a kick at Getafe at 25 and he made his Arsenal debut 5 years earlier. Is he just having some weird purple patch, late developer or was he just consistently overlooked? It baffles me how good keepers can spend most of their careers on the bench!

 

[Samid]

Arsenal sold the better goalie.

 

[paulscholes18]

It is strange. Martin Keown mentioned it in the Villa - Palace game (about 100 times) that the Arsenal coached thought that he would be their no1

 

[Cutch]

I was astonished to hear he had been at Arsenal for 8 years when he got his chance last season. Until then he had played only 56 games in his whole career barely playing during loans at Oxford, Sheffield Wednesday, Rotherham, Wolves, Getafe and Reading. Out of nowhere he has become one of the most solid keepers in the Premier Leagues

 

[Chipper]

Of all the positions out there goalie is probably the easiest to be overlooked in. It's not like you sub one in to give him a run our or a bit of experience like you might other positions, they don't really have much chance to impress.

It's also a position where experience is highly valued, and just in general goalies get dropped less than other players in part because of that. Manager's often being afraid to give someone without experience a game in case he's nervous and it costs them. Giving a young striker or winger a start is different. First team goalies are of course less likely to need resting anyway too as fatigue is much less of an issue compared to outfield players.

Sorry for talking in generalities rather than the player himself but I think that can all apply.

There's probably a lot of 'keepers out there who could have had very different careers if they got a break at the right time.

 

[FootballHQ]

Can't believe we got him tbh given how well he did for Arsenal in FA cup.

Top 6 keeper, his handling is amazing from long shots.

That will probably age well in last 30 minutes!

 

[Lay]

Wonder how good Peggy Arphexad was

 

[Chipper]

Imagine being a good youth goalie but you are #2 in a team's academy because they have someone they think is prodigious. Career might be over at that point.

 

[Bebestation]

The dumbest thing Arteta did and it showed you early that he will most likely fail as a manager.

 

[Brwned]

Of all the positions out there goalie is probably the easiest to be overlooked in. It's not like you sub one in to give him a run our or a bit of experience like you might other positions, they don't really have much chance to impress.

It's also a position where experience is highly valued, and just in general goalies get dropped less than other players in part because of that. Manager's often being afraid to give someone without experience a game in case he's nervous and it costs them. Giving a young striker or winger a start is different. First team goalies are of course less likely to need resting anyway too as fatigue is much less of an issue compared to outfield players.

Sorry for talking in generalities rather than the player himself but I think that can all apply.

There's probably a lot of 'keepers out there who could have had very different careers if they got a break at the right time.

Aye all generally true but surely you can see in training they've got a bit of quality? He seems a better keeper than Ospina or late-stage Cech for example. I guess like you say it's just a position where managers are more comfortable making the conservative choice in. Cech might not have been great but you knew what you were getting, and you were happy to stick with it for the season. You don't want to be juggling keepers. Seems like a poor decision on reflection though.

 

[MyOnlySolskjaer]

Can't believe we got him tbh given how well he did for Arsenal in FA cup.

Top 6 keeper, his handling is amazing from long shots.

That will probably age well in last 30 minutes!

He just catches everything. Not the type to do a tame parry. Fantastic goalkeeper.

 

[sillwuka]

I rate Romero very highly but Emi Martinez is even better than him.

Also at this moment, he's a better keeper than Henderson.

 

[Tottenhamguy]

Don't know what they seen in that Runarsson kid to favour him over Martinez.

 

[TheReligion]

Was he at arsenal for ten years?

Absolutely crazy to think they struggled for keeper after keeper but had this guy on their books all along!

Must be something more to it surely.

 

[Mcking]

@Brwned

The No.1 status for goalkeepers is just a very difficult one to attain. A goalkeeper needs everything to fall in place for him and be at a club that is actually willing to trust him as first choice. A club that is willing to give him a run, accept his mistakes and back him to come good.

The goalie position is one that you aren't going to see much rotation in, and the incumbent first choice has to be spectacularly bad for you to actually have the chance to displace him, because a solid performance every other game would always be just about enough for him to retain his position as first choice. It is the reason I didn't want Henderson to stay with De Gea still at the club.

The first time I watched Martinez closely was in the FA Cup final, and since then, I have followed him. I can categorically say that I have never seen a more convincing goalkeeper no matter how absurd it may sound. He just deals with everything without much fuss, and his handling is insane. Was bemused when Arsenal chose Leno over him.

Not sure how he performed at his former clubs, but I reckon the stars just didn't align for him. He is currently the best goalkeeper in the league as far as I'm concerned, and I see him as the type of goalkeeper that defenders relish playing next to. He'd transform any defence.

 

[arthurka]

Don't know what they seen in that Runarsson kid to favour him over Martinez.

He is pretty good with his feet and given trust he is a pretty solid keeper. Martinez probably wanted to play first team football and Arsenal thought Leno was better which he probably is. Leno is probably the only player at Arsenal who has been solid for some time.

 

[C'est Moi Cantona]

I wonder if Sheffield United had the chance at getting Martinez, afterall they would have looked more attractive than Villa a few months ago, similar fee to Ramsdale, yet miles apart in quality.

I sometimes think teams do very little homework with their choice of keepers compared with other positions.

 

[TheMagicFoolBus]

Literally the best goalkeeper in the PL at dealing with crosses. He's a good but not elite shot stopper but the security he brings when the opposition has the ball wide is hard to quantify. I don't think it's a coincidence Arsenal's defense has looked more ropey with Leno in it than it did with Martinez. Chelsea are another showcase of the benefits of having a proactive goalkeeper - with Mendy our entire defense has a different complexion. Leno is the better shot stopper but in an organised side the ability of a goalkeeper to deal with crosses is more important than shot stopping.

Thought Martinez was brilliant today again - Chelsea have had a lot of joy out of set pieces this year and his consistent willingness to step out off his line and catch the ball securely went a long way in shutting down that avenue of our attack.

 

[Winzaghi]

I wonder if Sheffield United had the chance at getting Martinez, afterall they would have looked more attractive than Villa a few months ago, similar fee to Ramsdale, yet miles apart in quality.

I sometimes think teams do very little homework with their choice of keepers compared with other positions.

It's funny because Wilder was moaning about Villa taking their transfer targets (yeah you really uncovered that obscure gem, Championship player of the year Ollie Watkins, Chris) but they go and sign Ramsdale for 20 odd million who's looked terrible so far.

 

[Idxomer]

Would've won more easily if he wasn't in goal today.

 

[Welbeckham]

He was incredible. Would love to have such a sweeper keeper. Looks like a complete GK.

 

[AltiUn]

He's better than Leno, there's no doubt in my mind about that.

 

[Robbie Boy]

He's better than Leno, there's no doubt in my mind about that.

It's not even close imo.

 

[P-Nut]

Most impressive for me was the moment he came out of his area to clear from a long ball. Perfect starting position stopped the threat before it happened.

 

[Cassidy]

Arsenal stupid to sell

 

[Winzaghi]

16m was daylight robbery. He's up there with Ederson and Alisson, and they cost 50 odd mil apiece.

 

[RedDevilRoshi]

Impresses me every single time I see him play. Arsenal letting him go, particularly for £16M is just mind boggling. He’s far better than what they have already.

 

[dwd]

Fair play, Russell Kane is decent.

 

[Bastian]

Most impressive for me was the moment he came out of his area to clear from a long ball. Perfect starting position stopped the threat before it happened.

Didn't he do that two or three times? Incredible Arsenal let him go.

 

[Acole9]

Everytime I've watched him he's been very good. Arsenal were daft to sell him.

 

[Robertd0803]

There's probably a lot of 'keepers out there who could have had very different careers if they got a break at the right time.

Unfortunately probably a lot of goalkeepers who didnt get the break they deserved and ended up getting lost.

Arsenal selling him was daft.

 

[Djemba-Djemba]

He's such a good keeper.

I think a major reason Villa are doing so well this season is because of him, makes a huge difference to a team when they know they have a top class keeper.

 

[InfiniteBoredom]

Villa should’ve shipped 4 if it weren’t for him.

Reminds me of the Tim Krul specials when we played Newcastle years ago.

 

[DWelbz19]

He’s quite good, yeah. If they had him last season instead of Pepe fecking Reina they’d probably have finished much higher up the table.

 

[saivet]

Impresses me every single time I see him play. Arsenal letting him go, particularly for £16M is just mind boggling. He’s far better than what they have already.

It's easy to say in hindsight but I think they got good money for him as he's pretty inexperienced and not a youngster. He came in after Leno got injured and played well after lockdown. If Leno wasn't injured he probably wouldn't have gone to Villa and would have been sold for peanuts in the Championship.

 

[vodrake]

Fantastic keeper, you can really see the effect he has on solidifying Villas defense

 

[Djemba-Djemba]

Going from a ten years past his best Pepe Reina to this guy must be one of the biggest upgrades in PL history.

 

[TrustInJanuzaj]

He’s clearly a good player but the praise is slightly over the top. I thought his distribution was largely quite poor and he could have been caught out a couple of times. He’s clearly not the best keeper in the world whoever said that in the other thread. He’s a very good keeper in a rich vein of form and it will be interesting to see if he can keep it up, good save off the Bruno effort.

 

[awop]

I hope every person who says we should not have sold him are not accountants or dealing with any sort of money in their job. It was the correct decision then and it still is now.

 

[Josep Dowling]

So bizarre that Arsenal sold him. I thought he had cemented the number one spot at the end of last season. Then he’s sold to Villa, their defence has looked so much better whilst Arsenal’s defence looks worse.