Emiliano Martinez: Did Arsenal Let A Star Slip Away ? Mikel Arteta Criticized For Selling The Goalkeeper

Emiliano Martinez is now lauded as one of the best Premier League goalkeepers, however, Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta attracted much criticism for letting the shot-stopper go.

Even though Arteta did a great job in transforming Arsenal into the title contenders team and winning the FA Cup within his time, not all of the transfers he made were brilliant in the long term.

Emiliano Martinez, who moved to Arsenal at a young age, was with the club for almost a decade, made only 38 senior appearances and was loaned out six times before Aston Villa signed him in 2020 in what could be considered a bargain by most standards.

Since his exit, the Argentine has grown so much to Aston Villa’s turnaround and helped the team’s qualification to the Champions League.

He wasn’t just performing heroics at club level; Martinez played an active part in the Argentinian team that won the FIFA World Cup in Qatar and subsequently was given praises and accolades worldwide.

The last meteoric rise saw Premier League icon Jussi Jaaskelainen place Martinez in the top two goalkeepers in the Premier League, on par with Liverpool’s Alisson Becker.

Did Arteta Make A Mistake Selling Emiliano Martinez?

They publicly commended Martinez and questioned Arteta’s decision to let go of the footballer by calling his decision a mistake.

Arteta has been widely praised for the Arsenal performance with fewer fluctuations in the Premier League and also rebuilding the competitive team culture.

A lot of these achievements have been attributed to his ability to cut his losses with players he felt were not fit to represent the club in the direction he wanted.

But it sure looks more like one-eyed, short-sightedness that Martinez has now emerged as one of the hottest bets and nearly infallible in his role as a goalkeeper.

While playing for Arsenal, Martinez was not highly regarded, but his progress at Villa has turned him into one of the most aggressively discussed goalkeepers in the league.

At present, Arsenal has quite a stable pair in terms of goalkeepers at the moment, considering Aaron Ramsdale and David Raya; however, it makes some GUNNERS want to know what would happen if Martinez is given a chance to develop in Arsenal.

Delivering a Premier League title is still a challenge for Arteta, but his managerial status had been loaded with puzzling decisions, such as selling Martinez.