Is Arsenal number two Emiliano Martinez underrated?

I was one of the Arsenal fans who were not so confident that Emiliano Martinez would be able to fill the shoes of Bernd Leno when the German got injured against Brighton.

The Argentinean did have a good season on loan at Reading last time out, and that is one reason why he was brought back as our second choice this season.

However, he hasn’t really been tested at the Premier League level. That was one reason why I doubted that he would be as reliable as what we needed.

After his first few games for the club, I have to admit that he has surpassed my expectations, and I genuinely underrated him.

Arsenal has been a better team defensively since Mikel Arteta became our manager, but the role that Martinez has played in our recent return to form cannot be understated.

A look at his all-time Premier League stats shows that he has played 10 Premier League games for the club and kept six clean sheets.

This season alone, he has played four Premier League games, kept three clean sheets, conceded two goals, made nine saves, and made zero errors leading to a goal.

Martinez is by no means a world-class goalkeeper yet, but these stats suggest that the South American is better than most people think he is.

An article from Ime

Tags Emiliano Martinez

15 Comments

  1. He’s solid defensively and doesn’t have any easily identifiable weaknesses.
    I’m highly impressed by his distribution and his concentration when it’s a close match. Not sure how long he’ll be content being a number 2 behind Leno.
    With keepers it’s generally clear who’s 1 and 2, but so far it appears we may have a 1A and 1B.

    1. Exactly! Durand

      I have been so surprised with him, especially his aerial prowess, boy he is so commanding in the air, more vocal and all.

      Had he played against Olympiacos, we wouldn’t have lost that game…Leno is overconfident sometimes imo.
      He deserves to keep playing even when Leno returns.

  2. It will be difficult to hold onto him when Leno return, to have competition is a good headache for the team but gk isn’t a position you rotate, and Emily is too good a backup goalie, we need to renew his contract and be ready to get maximum worth when team come calling

  3. I had very few doubts about Emi. Having been a longtime fan it has always been my impression that he oozed confidence and was ready to grab the opportunity should it arise.

    I think he is good enough to be first choice goalkeeper for quite a few PL sides. Quite a luxury problem we have here.

  4. It is very reassuring to know we have two very fine keepers.Leno could have a job getting his jersey back.

  5. Been impressed so far. The way he plucks out that ball from the air is so commendable 👌. The only issue with him is not being that good compared to leno with his feet the reason as to why he kicks most of his goal kick rather than build from the back. Hope we won tonight !

  6. He is a good keeper, we see him always performant, to be “number 2” at his age and level we see him does sound totally off. Our last academy keeper is at Juve, he Martinez was hghly rated as a young player, was brought in for that, never got his chance. Today everyone watches his performances and clean sheets, not sure

  7. Reminds me a bit of the Seaman-Manninger situation back in the days. Manninger stepped in for Seaman and kept six clean sheets in the run in to the league championship win in 97/98. He also deputized the following season very well. However, Seaman took his place once recovered. In this particular case, it is less clear cut. While Leno is a very good shot stopper, he is not commanding enough in the box being particularly poor on crosses. He has also been probably our most consistent player alongside Auba this season. Personally I would have Leno fight for the job. So I’d keep Martinez in goal for now.

  8. Martinez certainly had big gloves to fill, but he’s passed with flying colours as far as I’m concerned!

  9. What impresses me most with Martinez asides being commanding in the air, is how he manages to Catch certain shots that some other so-called 1st team goalkeeper would spill for a rebound.
    I hope he remains in goal even if Leno recovers as long as he continues to perform consistently in order not to dent his confidence.

    I expect another solid performance from him tonight..
    COYG

  10. Definitely surpassed expectations so far! If he can keep this level of performance up for the rest of the season, don’t think he’ll be very far behind Leno when next season starts / Leno back.

    What a great headache to have 🙂

  11. No, ive always rated him, he just hasn’t really been given chance until now. We have two very good goalkeepers. He is proving a very good keeper, which is only good for AFC.

  12. Not by me, I’ve always rated Martinez and said recently that hell take over the first team spot and within the next couple of years become Argentina’s first choice

Comments are closed

Top Blog Sponsors