After an impressive performances towards the end of last season, Arsenal’s goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez has disclosed that there are as many as ten clubs after his signature this summer.
The 27-yrs-old Argentine goalkeeper spoke of his intention to leave the club, should Arsenal fails to guarantee him an increase game-time next season.
Martinez has reiterated on his possible departure, revealing the plethora of options available to tempt him away from Arsenal this summer.
“I want to stay at Arsenal, but only if I get more minutes,” Martinez told Marca. “Because on a personal level I am at an age where to build confidence; I need to be playing as many minutes as possible.
“I am in the crosshairs of 10 teams in Europe, but I can’t say who those clubs are because there’s nothing concrete. I still do not have a clear situation with Arsenal, when I have it when I return I will make the best decision for my career.”
Since Bernd Leno was taken off after he was injured during Arsenal’s defeat to Brighton on 20 June 2020, Martinez replaced the Germany international goalkeeper and made his first Premier League appearance since the 2016/2017 season.
His rear opportunity to mount the post in the absence of Bernd Leno led to him featuring in all the remainder matches till the end of last season, including the FA Cup games. He became dominant and was highly commended for his string of stellar performances, which also enthralled former Arsenal forward Ian Wright, describing him as “commanding”.
On 1 August 2020, Martinez was selected to start in Arsenal’s FA Cup Final game against Chelsea, after a generally poor start by the Gunner which allowed Chelsea’s winger Pulisic to score an opening goal, He went on to make some crucial saves to keep them in good position, denying Chelsea several chances to add to their goal tally and eventually went on to help Arsenal win their 14th historical FA Cup trophy.
Martinez stock has obviously risen since his heroic performances in Leno’s absence and a move away from Arsenal this summer would surely be a huge blow to the Gunners as the club wouldn’t want to lose such rare quality backup goalkeeper.
He has shown that he’s got enough quality to be the first choice goalkeeper and one of the best backup keeper any club could be lucky to have, but the uncertainty concerning the lack assurance of a regular playing time might eventually lure the Argentine away from the Emirates this summer.
