The stock of Emi Martinez is quickly rising ahead of the new Premier League season as more clubs are taking interest in the Argentine despite failing to meet Arsenal'd transfer demands as of yet.
football.london understand there has been no agreement on a transfer fee yet between any of the clubs interested in Martinez. No team has met his £20million price tag although personal terms are in place with Aston Villa and Brighton.
Villa have been heavily linked with a move for Martinez in recent weeks with football.london reporting on September 6, that they were in the driving seat to secure his signature should the 28-year-old choose to leave north London this summer.
Dean Smith is understood to be looking to fill the void in goal with Tom Heaton out for the start of the season and Pepe Reina leaving the club at the end of the 2019/20 campaign.
Brighton joined the race to sign Martinez late this week to try and persuade him to move to the Amex Stadium in favour of Villa Park.
With the growing interest in the goalkeeper, there is a possibility of him being left out of Arteta's squad for the trip to Fulham.
Since replacing the injured Bernd Leno away at Brighton in June, Martinez has excelled in goal for Arsenal, proving to Arteta and clubs across England that he can be trusted as a regular starter in the Premier League.
As well as displaying outstanding levels of concentration to make key saves late on in matches, against Liverpool and Southampton for example, his confidence in possession also added another dimension to the Gunners attack.
Although Leno had an incredible season by his standards, the consistent level at which the Argentine distributed the ball to his defenders well was crucial to Arteta implementing the style of play that has become synonymous with his three at the back system.
Officially, first team manager now, the Spaniard was asked about the likelihood of Martinez leaving before the trip to Fulham but wasn't willing to give too much away.
"Again, I cannot stop all the speculation that we have about players coming in and out. I will say that I don't want to comment on any individuals at the moment without having the right answers," he said in his pre-match press conference.
"I don't treat the goalkeeping position any differently to the others. I think the one that in my opinion is training better with the goalkeeping coach has the better chance to start tomorrow and my decision will be consistent like that throughout this season.
"Then its for the other one to push and make him better and when his chance comes, be ready and help the team as they both did last season. Both were fantastic in my opinion."
