Aston Villa goalkeeper Emi Martinez earned his move to Villa after delivering some superb performances for Arsenal at the end of the 2019/2020 season.
The Argentinian had been at the club for a decade, but his breakthrough came during that stage of the season as he helped Arsenal win the FA Cup.
At the start of the 2020/2021 season, Mikel Arteta had to choose between him and Bernd Leno, and the Spaniard was forced to let Martinez go after failing to provide him with guarantees.
Martinez has now won the World Cup and is considered one of the best goalkeepers in the world, while Arsenal has had three number-ones since he left the club.
He recently spoke about his move away from the Emirates and revealed that he communicated to Mikel Arteta that he had to play because of his international future.
Martinez told L’Equipe:
I had a discussion with Mikel Arteta, my coach at Arsenal, and I told him that my dream was to play for the national team and that for that I had to leave.
“He didn’t like it, but he understood, he told me he would give me an exit voucher and Aston Villa took a gamble on me. Thanks to this club, I was able to achieve my goal and this year we are playing in a European cup for the first time in thirteen years. It’s win-win.”
Just Arsenal Opinion
Martinez had a good spell with us during the months that he was our first choice and we made good money from selling him.
However, he probably would not have been this good if he stayed at the Emirates and was relegated to the number two spot.