This has been a massive bone of contention for Arsenal fans since the recovery of Bernd Leno from his injury, with many debates about who should be the Gunners starting keeper going into the new season.
There is no doubt that Emi Martinez has been a revelation since becoming a regular starter, but the fact remains that he is in the last year of his contract, and at 28 years old it is no surprise that he wants to be starting games on a regular basis at this stage of his career. He has certainly earned the right after being so patient for the last ten years.
There is also the fact that his current wages is still only £20k a week, and if he moves now he will get a massive boost to that figure, which must be taken into consideration.
So now, according to the Athletic, Aston Villa have put in a second bid for the Argentinean shotstopper, which is supposed to be closer to Arsenal’s valuation of £20million.
So, although there are many Arsenal fans that would be loathe to let him go, we could also look at it as a very unexpected bonus for Arsenal, because if Leno had not been injured, no one would have batted an eyelid if we had let Martinez leave for a nominal fee this summer, having hardly ever started a game for us in his ten years at the club (6 in the League, and 14 in all competitions).
Personally, I think that Arsenal will look to take that bonus and use it to help fund a player in a position that we are more in dire need of filling.
What do you think?