Following the FA Cup title this weekend, Arsenal goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez has spoken to his home country’s media.
Interviewed by Radio La Red, the player recalled his whole career, until the point where he finally lifted a trophy as a starter for the Gunners.
Martínez sent big compliments to Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta, who led the team to a trophy in his first season in charge.
“Mikel was a great player, always a leader. Now as a coach he’s an animal, he gives us plans and makes us believe that it’ll work,” Martinez told La Red (via ESPN).
“Everything that happens we practice, when we play we’re calm. I know that when I receive the ball I will have a midfielder close to triangulate.”
Martinez was in tears following the weekend’s game. He says it was all due to Pierre Emmerick Aubameyang, who he claims to be a ‘crack’, which is South American slang for a great player.
“Tearful because the game had just ended, Aubameyang told me that he admired me a lot, he said I was the one. He’s a great striker, he’s a crack.”
“It was hard for me with the English language, but at 19 I became a boyfriend with who’s my wife today and she taught me everything and I learned everything, it didn’t cost me that much. My son speaks all three languages because my wife is born in England but is the daughter of Brazilians and Portuguese.”
“I was not planning to leave young, I wanted to play in Independiente’s first team and go to Europe. It happened as it happened, I could not say no to Arsenal.
“Going back to Independiente is something that I’ll never rule out, they’re the one that gave me the opportunity to be in Europe. But today I cannot assure anything, I want to return with a good level, I wouldn’t do it at 35 without a good level. I see my career on the rise, I can’t confirm it.”
Since signing for the Gunners, the goalkeeper had loan spells at Oxford United, Sheffield Wednesday, Rotherham, Wolverhampton Wanderers, Getafe and Reading.
He explains that there’s been some heavy competition for the goalkeeping position in these ten years at the club, and that only made him stronger in a fight for that place.
“My competition was Almunia, Szczesny, David Ospina, Petr Cech and Bernd Leno. It was high performance, whether you wanted to or not I grew up with them.
“Henry, Van Persie, Fábregas, Aubameyang, Lacazette, Arshavin, there have been high level players at Arsenal all my life, when it comes to playing in the Premier or whatever, I am trained in the best way because they are cracks.”
