I Never Wanted To Join Arsenal – Emiliano Martinez

The goalkeeper said he wanted to stay at Independiente in Argentina.

Arsenal signed Martinez as a teenager from Argentina. He went on to spend 10 years in London and made only 38 first team appearances in that time.

He left north London on a string of loan spells, turning out for Oxford United, Sheffield Wednesday, Rotherham United, Wolves, Getafe and Reading.

The goalkeeper finally proved his worth to Arsenal during the 2019-20 season when he made 23 appearances and winning the FA Cup.

He then left for Aston Villa at the end of the season as he looked for – and found – guaranteed first team opportunities.

The 29-year-old said he never really wanted to join the club in the first place .

“Arsenal came to look for me and Pepe Santoro told me that the train only passes once in a lifetime,” Martinez said in an interview with El Pais, via the Mirror.

“My family and my agents thought the same. So, the decision was more for them [his family] than anything else.

“I didn’t want to go. I did not regret it, but I wanted to play in Independiente. For a while, I thought: ‘If I stayed, in two years I will make my debut.’ I knew I could get to Independiente’s first team. The club trusted the youth team goalkeepers.

“We lacked a little financially. I did it more for that than for sports.”