Aston Villa have announced on their official website that they have completed the capture of Emiliano Martinez from Arsenal. The West Midlands club has confirmed that the Argentine goalie has penned a four-year contract at Villa Park.
Martinez’s Excellent Contributions At The English Capital Recently
The 28-year-old recently helped the Gunners secure the FA Community Shield as he made some fine saves during that game which highlights just how much he has grown as a keeper over the past few months. The Mar del Plata-born goalie made a total of 38 senior appearances for the North London outfit last season, conceding 41 goals and earning 16 clean sheets in all competitions.
Martinez has begun to prove his worth in England but can improve his ball-distribution after completing just 67.3% of his attempted passes in the 2019-20 Premier League campaign (stats via whoscored). However, he needs to ensure regular game time this season which justifies his move to Villa Park during this transfer window.
The Argentine custodian has won the FA Cup twice since joining Arsenal from Atletico Independiente back in 2010. Martinez has also gone out to experience several loan spells in England and Spain during his long career at North London. Thus, he will bring a winning mindset to Aston Villa and has the experience to help them avoid relegation from the English top-flight in this campaign.
What Will The Argentine Keeper Bring To Villa Park?
Standing at 1.95m, Martinez can be an intimidating presence inside the six-yard box and has proven himself as a decent handler of the ball when coming out to collect crosses from the opposition’s corners and indirect freekick. The experienced keeper has got quick reflexes for a player of his height that helps him make some important stops at the back for this team. At 28, he still has plenty of time left in his locker to play in top gear which will benefit the Villans in the long-run.
Based on recent form, Martinez will be an upgrade over Ørjan Nyland, Tom Heaton and Jed Steer at the West Midlands club. He deserves to be Dean Smith’s number choice for the goalkeeping position at Villa Park and will undoubtedly improve the quality of the Villa first-team for this new campaign.
However, it remains to be seen whether he has what it takes to deal with the pressures of playing in the English first division week in week out. If he can manage to handle the expectations surrounding his move to Aston Villa, then he could prove to be a shrewd acquisition for the Villans this summer.
