Former Reading manager José Gomes has revealed Aston Villa goalkeeper Emi Martinez was determined to leave Arsenal to prove them wrong about himself.
Martinez has emerged as one of the best goalkeepers in the Premier League over the last year following a £15.6m move to Aston Villa from Arsenal in September 2020.
Other than a brief stint replacing the injured Bernd Leno towards the end of the 2019/20 season, the Argentine was never given a chance at the Emirates, mostly spending his ten years at the club out on various loan deals.
Since moving to Aston Villa, he has turned himself into an internationally recognised player, shining in the Premier League with Dean Smith’s side and for Argentina, where he has been the star of the show at the Copa America this summer.
It seems Martinez was keen to get out, though, and prove those at the Emirates they were wrong about him.
“It was clear to him that sooner or later he would get his chance in the elite, above all because of his strength in believing that his moment would come,” Gomes told AS.
“He was clear; he preferred to earn less money and go out to play and look for a chance to get minutes than to be at Arsenal without playing.
“He wanted to play; he wanted a chance to play and to show Arsenal that he could.”
