John Terry says Emi Martinez got a ‘taste at Arsenal’ but now the Aston Villa number one is a ‘top, top goalkeeper’ after he helped Argentina reach the 2022 World Cup final in Qatar on Tuesday.
The former Aston Villa coach and player added that Martinez is someone who is ‘demanding’ and is an old-school keeper playing in a modern-day way.
Terry was on the Villa coaching staff when they signed Martinez, who had yet to make his international debut, for £17 million from Arsenal (BBC Sport) in 2020.
The rise from the now-30-year-old has been pretty remarkable and he is one game away from creating history and standing with the legends of legends from his motherland.
If Argentina secures World Cup glory – either against France or Morocco – then it would have taken Lionel Messi 172 games to reach that goal, added with the Copa America.
For someone like Martinez, who has only lost one game on the international stage, it would have taken him just 26. It’s a stunning turn of events and this is what Terry had to say about the player, as he told beIN SPORTS (13/12/22 at 9:25 pm).
On Martinez texting Arteta that he no longer wanted to be number two at Arsenal and if he saw his progression coming:
“He had a taste at Arsenal, didn’t he?!” said Terry. “He came into the team and then they signed another keeper and he got put to being number two. I think it was Bernd Leno.
“He said ‘I want to play regularly now’. We were very fortunate to have him at Aston Villa. Very ambitious with his experience. He’s a top, top keeper.
“The attributes, the way I look at him, he’s like an old keeper in modern-day football. He’s talkative. Demanding. Comes for crosses. He is the only goalkeeper I know, in this day and age, that actually catches the ball. He’s a fantastic keeper.”
EMI MARTINEZ’S RISE
It needs to be remembered that Emi Martinez was a teenager when he first stepped foot onto English soil and things were very difficult for him at the start.
An error-prone keeper, who struggled at various loan spells, it just wasn’t working for the player in England.
But that moment against Brighton, when Neal Maupay injured Leno, opened a door that Martinez has walked through and he is now one of the best around.
It’s all deserved because, since moving to Villa, during that period, he has been the club’s most consistent performer.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
