Emiliano Martinez has enjoyed a meteoric rise in just a few short months. From relative anonymity, entrenched on the Arsenal bench, the Argentinian was unexpectedly thrust into the spotlight after an injury to Bernd Leno. Martinez made the most of his long-awaited opportunity in the Premier League and is now on the verge of a big-money move to Aston Villa, where after eight years at Arsenal and six separate loan stints, he will finally become the number one choice.
The Gunners have reluctantly decided to part with their former youth product and are conducting talks with Villa over a transfer fee, seeking around £20m. Arsenal have been sufficiently impressed with Martinez that they were refusing to guarantee a starting spot for Leno – who was previously the unquestioned starter – upon his return from injury. Martinez however has made it clear that he wants to be the main man, and with Arsenal failing to promise that, he has pushed for a transfer.
A string of excellent performances in the Premier League, as well as Arsenal’s run to FA Cup glory, has boosted Martinez’s stock and the numbers behind his success are nothing short of remarkable.
Martinez ranked as WhoScored’s best Premier League goalkeeper for the 2019/20 season, earning a grade of 7.04, and also graded well in Arsenal’s final three FA Cup games – all of which were against Premier League opposition – with an average rating of 7.00. He also finished with the 5th lowest goals conceded per 90 minutes (0.95) behind only Alisson, Ederson, Dean Henderson and David de Gea. Martinez had the best save percentage (83.8%) in the Premier League, as well as placing in the top 5 for goals conceded-to-expected goals conceded differential (0.24), showing an ability to make difficult saves.
It is reported that Martinez is having his medical on Saturday afternoon and will be between the sticks for Villa’s belated Premier League season opener against Sheffield United, a fixture that inspires recent memories of a goalkeeping mishap that Orjan Nyland was fortunate to get away with. This time Villa face Chris Wilder’s side, they should have more confidence in the man guarding their goal.
Martinez claimed 8 high balls in 9 appearances for Arsenal in the Premier League last season, which over a 38-game campaign would have placed him 2nd in the league. He left his goal the 4th most times of any keeper (1.91 per game) and only punched the ball once, showing Martinez to be a confident, aggressive goalkeeper who likes to take charge of his penalty area. This would be a welcome change of pace after watching Nyland and Pepe Reina flail at crosses for the second half of last season.
He’s shown his ceiling, but the element of risk comes in the fact that all of these wonderful statistics came from just nine appearances and the question is, can he hit those heights on a consistent basis, with the weight of being the undisputed number one on his shoulders? Villa will be hoping that his ability to perform in big games, such as Arsenal’s two trips to Wembley, is proof enough of his ability to handle that pressure. If Emiliano Martinez matches, or even comes close to matching his stellar displays from the final stretch of last season, then a fee of £20m would be a steal and Villa will have one of the best goalkeepers in the Premier League for many years to come.
There is further reason to believe that Martinez’s great form is not a mirage, going back to his days out on loan in the Championship.
Whilst at Wolverhampton Wanderers in the 2015/16 season, Martinez received a higher WhoScored grade (7.21) than any goalkeeper to play 13 or more games in the second tier. It was déjà vu in the 2018/19 season for Reading, as he was ranked as the 2nd best stopper to make 18 or more appearances.
A pattern has emerged throughout Martinez’s career of him playing really well, then not getting an opportunity to keep the momentum going, demonstrated by his low tally of just 102 appearances over the last 8 years, an average of around 13 games per season. It’s been a long and winding road for Martinez, and after many years of hard work he couldn’t hide his emotions as he celebrated winning the FA Cup with Arsenal. Villa are making a habit of signing hungry, motivated players this summer, and Martinez is no different.
This is a move that makes total sense for Villa, who have made a new goalkeeper a priority this summer. Tom Heaton is not expected to be available until October and Villa’s various backups have failed to convince anyone that they are capable of taking the reins. When Heaton does come back from his serious injury, there’s no guarantee he’ll be the same player as he was, and even if Heaton is back to his best, he is now 34 years old, with his best years likely behind him. Martinez on the other hand is 28 – which is still fairly young for a goalkeeper with hardly any tread on his tires – and entering his prime years.
Heaton’s WhoScored rating for last season was only 6.57, well below Martinez’s score (albeit over a larger sample size). This gives you an idea of the talent Martinez possesses in comparison to Heaton at this stage of their respective careers, and even if Martinez isn’t quite able to recreate his marvellous recent play, he should still provide an upgrade on Villa’s current slew of goalkeepers. The purchase of Emiliano Martinez will mean that Aston Villa have now signed a goalkeeper for the fifth successive transfer window. After a significant investment in their latest stopper, Villa will expect Martinez to finally provide stability and quality to the position.
The Villa Ramble 
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