Arsenal’s third-choice goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez is promoted to first-team duty against Anderlecht in the Champions League on Wednesday following Wojciech Szczesny’s suspension and injury to the Colombian international David Ospina. But who is he, and should Gunners fans be worried?
1) His formative years were confusing
The Argentina youth international was playing for Independiente reserves when the call came that Arsenal were interested in signing him. Cue confusion for the young stopper as he assumed they meant the Primera League side Arsenal de Sarandí, aka Los del Viaducto (The viaduct men) or simply El Arse. But it was indeed Arsène Wenger’s side, who brought in the 16-year-old, who at that age stood well over 6ft, for £1.2m in 2009, one of two signings that summer alongside Thomas Vermaelen. In a typically profitable spell, this was the time when the club swapped Emmanuel Adebayor and Kolo Touré for a combined £39m with Manchester City. Due in part to work permit issues, Wenger immediately loaned Martínez back to his former club for a year.
2) He was brought in as a ringer to face Port Vale
In May 2012 Oxford United – still at this point entertaining dreams of reaching the League Two play-offs – brought Martínez in on an emergency loan deal after injuries hit both Wayne Brown and Ryan Clarke. The Oxford manager Chris Wilder enthused: “We have worked very hard to get a quality keeper in. [He] came with tremendous recommendations.” Bouncing, the 19-year-old Martínez added: “I am very excited to be playing for the Oxford first team on Saturday. I will try and help the team as much as I can.” Come the weekend, Oxford were on the wrong end of a 3-0 shoeing at Port Vale and all hope of the play-offs was at an end.
3) He shipped five and still won
After a stint of bench-warming Martínez made his senior debut for Arsenal in a routine 6-1 League Cup drubbing of Coventry City in September 2012. But he really announced his arrival in his next outing, the fourth round against Reading – a rarity in that he shipped five goals and yet ended up on the winning side. The 7-5 victory, which boasted a “big party” in the second half according to his manager, featured a Theo Walcott hat-trick, Marouane Chamakh scoring twice and Laurent Koscielny scoring at both ends. It also saw Martínez concede four first-half goals to give his side a seemingly insurmountable task, including a third credited to Reading’s Mikele Leigertwood that the keeper actually punched into his own net.
4) He experienced further emergencies
Ditched for the 2012 League Cup quarter-final against Bradford (where Arsenal lost on penalties), and stuck behind both Wojciech Szczesny and Vito Mannone in the pecking order, opportunities were hard to come by for Martínez. Another loan beckoned, and his next action came in the Championship with Sheffield Wednesday, initially on a one-month emergency loan but then extended to the end of the season as the player impressed in accruing 11 first-team appearances for the Owls. As well as vital first-team experience, the Argentinian says he was helped at the club by the former England international Chris Kirkland, who responded to being replaced in the side by the youngster by acting as his personal servant. “He’s a real professional on and off the pitch,” said Martínez. “He made me a cup of tea at half-time to help me keep warm.”
5) Bench-warming can be a costly business
With Ospina currently injured after a niggly comedown from his World Cup campaign this summer, Martínez has found himself a regular attendant of Arsenal’s smart red car seats. Still, even though he has yet to feature this season, the bean-counters have been taking notice of his appearance in matchday squads, and in August ESPN Deportes reported that his place on the subs bench for the 2-2 draw with Everton triggered a clause in his contract which meant Independiente received €300,000. And now, with Szczesny suspended after his needless red card against Galatasaray, the youngster has a chance to show that he has matured significantly since his last outing for Arsenal. As for who’s backing Martínez up on the bench? Ryan Huddart, a 17-year-old England youth international and former Charlton trainee.
