Slowly but surely, Arsenal are shedding the tag of ‘the feeder club’ which falls prey to the bigger fishes in the transfer market. After the sensational defender, Héctor Bellerín, committed his long-term future to the North London outfit by putting pen to a long-term contract, the club’s highly rated third-choice goalkeeper has also followed the footsteps of the Spaniard.
Emiliano Martínez, who has been in the fray as the Gunners’ League Cup goalkeeper this season has been rewarded with a new long-term contract by Arsène Wenger. The 24-year-old has had successful loan spells with Oxford United, Sheffield Wednesday, Rotherham United and Wolverhampton Wanderers and as of now, his future seems to be at the Emirates Stadium.
Apparently, the collection of goalkeepers at Arsenal is unparalleled. Petr Čech being employed in the league fixtures, David Ospina meeting the Champions League commitments and Martínez serving the club in the League Cup, it is not a rocket science to assess the plethora of talents at the red half of the North London and let us not forget that Wojciech Szczęsny is also leaving no stone unturned to persuade Monsieur Wenger in calling him back to London from AS Roma where he has been in a decent form so far this season.
Martínez has also been backed by Čech, who has highlighted the availability of the ability of the Argentine youngster to keep the gloves of a demanding club like Arsenal where there is no room for complacency. However, the 6’4” shot-stopper rarely puts his frailties on the tray. An ability that glitters the most in him is his attribute of being a phenomenon stopper from the close ranges. Further, he is a lively asset at the back, possesses a decent positional sense and distributes the ball well to initiate counter-attacks from his side. His slim yet towering stature makes him very mobile and aids to his cause of terminating the crosses from the opposition, and these reasons tell us why Wenger was reluctant to lose Martínez.
Two clean sheets in the League Cup already, the ever-impressive goalie faces a tough fixture against Southampton in the quarter-finals of the League Cup where he needs to carry his form, aim to impress the gaffer and prove his credentials. Now that the contract has been signed and his morale being boosted, it is time to get down to the basics and keep the competition level for the goalkeeping spot very high.
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