Former Arsenal goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez left the Gunners for Aston Villa in a deal worth up to £20m at the end of the 2019/20 season, despite having finally broken into the first-team after more than a decade at the club.
The move was said to be a step down for the Argentine goalkeeper, but he insisted it wasn’t, a message he’d like to reinforce to international and future club teammate, Emiliano Buendia, who snubbed an approach from Arsenal to join the Midlands club.
An injury to Bernd Leno post-lockdown meant that Martinez stepped up in goal in the latter stages of the 2019/20 season for Arsenal, and he went on to help the Gunners win their 14th FA cup success. His performances earned him cult-hero status, and many fans hoped he would eventually choose to stay.
But his desire to play regular football for an ambitious club persuaded him to sign for Villa: “They were all saying it was a step down in my career, but I always said it was a step up,” he told VillaTV after beating Arsenal 3-0 in November.
“When I decided to come to Villa it was because I trusted the manager and the club’s ambitions, and I knew how big Villa are."
Martinez went on to have an extremely successful debut season with his new team, keeping 15 clean sheets - the third most in the league behind Manchester City’s Ederson and Chelsea’s Edouard Mendy as Villa finished 11th in the Premier League, three places and six points behind Arsenal.
And Martinez has huge ambitions for Villa, and believes that they can get into Europe in the near future.
“Some people do not realise how big Aston Villa are," he said.
"I said on day one my ambition is to be in Europe with Aston Villa. I want to take this club as high as possible and we are on the right path.”
Martinez will be pleased Buendia chose to ignore the Gunners, and will be stressing to him that anything is achievable with this new look, determined Villa side.
