Kevin Campbell has hailed Emiliano Martinez and spoken about the tough decision that Mikel Arteta had to make in letting him leave the club.
Arsenal has had to sell Martinez to Aston Villa because they decided to keep Bernd Leno as their first choice.
Martinez had enjoyed a little time as the club’s first choice from June till last month in the absence of the injured Bernd Leno.
The club won the FA Cup and Community Shield with him as their first choice, but Arteta couldn’t guarantee him a starting place in the new season and he has decided to leave the Emirates.
Arsenal’s loss might become Villa’s gain because Campbell thinks that the Argentinean will prove to be a good addition to the Villa side.
He, however, insisted that letting him go was a decision that Arteta had to make.
“He’s been at Arsenal for such a long time,” Campbell told Sky Sports. “And finally he got his opportunity after the restart when Leno got injured and he was fantastic.
“He made the back four and he made the defence calm. He’s a very good shot-stopper and he managed his box very well. It was 1A and 1B at Arsenal because there were two number ones.
“The fact of the matter is, Mikel Arteta had to make a decision on who was going to be his number one and he chose Leno. It’s a great bit of business by Aston Villa to get Martinez in. He’s going to prove to be a fantastic goalkeeper for Aston Villa, that’s for sure.”
Arsenal is now looking for a new goalkeeper that will replace Martinez and Brentford’s David Raya is one of their targets.
