Emiliano Martinez has taken aim at Arsenal after the Gunners made a decision which 'stopped him loving football.'
The 28-year-old is now a star for Aston Villa and has had a remarkable last 12 months, picking up winners medals at both club and international level, lifting the FA Cup and Copa America respectively.
Those accolades no easy feat for any player, especially Martinez, who was sent out on loan six times across seven years during his frustrating time at the Emirates.
Formerly a perennial Arsenal cast off, it was only when Bernd Leno suffered an injury post-lockdown in 2019-20 which saw the Argentine finally get his chance as No.1 for the Gunners.
His commanding displays made the Premier League take notice and maintaining his desire to play regular top-flight football, signed for Villa last summer for £20million.
Now one of the league's best stoppers, things could have been very different had he not chosen to put his foot down in 2019.
In a candid interview with Football Daily ahead of the new season, Martinez opened up on life as a loanee as he fell out of love with the game.
"I don't think you prepare for not playing," he admitted.
"I always thought I had the talent but at some stage in my career when I was 22, 23 and I wasn't playing, I went on my first loan to Spain, I played only six games.
"Then I knew I would have to go back to Arsenal and they wouldn't give me a chance, so I would have to go on loan, so those years were really difficult, at some point I stopped loving football.
"That was something I was worried about, I told my wife, 'I know I'm not playing but I've stopped watching football games,' so it wasn't an easy place to be.
"Then I went on loan again to Reading in the Championship, a league which I didn't want to be in."
It was then that Martinez put his foot down and turned the corner thanks to his self-belief and professional help.
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"I put myself in a position: I have a newborn baby, this is going to be my last loan," he revealed regarding his move to Reading in January 2019.
"I got that in my head, I started with a psychologist that helped me through my bad moment, it helped me to get past my frustrations.
"Because I always believed I had the talent, I always believed in myself, that I could be one of the best."
When he helped Mikel Arteta and co to the FA Cup and a strong end to 19-20, his faith in himself was justified.
Before triumphing alongside Lionel Messi this past summer, Martinez equalled Brad Friedel's record of 15 clean sheets in a season in his first campaign at Villa Park as Dean Smith's side finished 11th.
The towering Argentine, who only made his International debut this year, conceded just two goals in six matches during his nation's run to the claiming the continental trophy, notably saving three penalties against Colombia in the semi-final.
Heading back to the Premier League as both a fantasy football and Villa fan favourite, Martinez's career is on the up.
