Former Aston Villa striker Gabby Agbonlahor has revealed his surprise at the “outrageous” form shown by recent signing Emiliano Martinez.
Agbonlahor has watched his former club perform to a high standard thus far in the Premier League, winning the opening four games of the season before a couple of defeats preceded the 3-0 win over Arsenal at the weekend.
A key performer for Villa this term and against the Gunners has been Martinez, who signed from the Londoners two months ago for a fee of £20m.
The 26-year-old has featured in all seven of Villa’s league games so far this term, with his form earning an average match rating of 6.92 out of 10 from WhoScored.com.
Touching on the Spaniard’s performances between the sticks for Villa, Agbonlahor spoke exclusively to Football Insider and said: “I was quite shocked when it when it was done, the transfer.
“I was like: ‘Ugh, we could use that money somewhere else, you know, got a couple of okay keepers but I don’t think people realise that what a top keeper does to you.
“I mean like, maybe 10 years ago when I was playing it was like: ’The keeper will be alright as long as he can do a couple saves,’ spend the money on an attacker.
“But with Martinez it’s like the way he can play up on the ball. I’ve seen some balls rapped into him and his control, his playing from the back, he’s composed and that’s a big thing in football now so I think the price we’ve got him is a steal because there’s a lot of clubs in the Premier League that would love to have him in their team.
“Some of the saves he’s been making have been like outrageous and for me Aston Villa have needed a keeper with authority. And, you know, he’s a he’s a big guy as well.”
With the international break now underway, Villa will prepare in the meantime for their next Premier League fixture against Brighton on November 21.
Read Aston Villa Verdict
Martinez has proved nothing short of an excellent bit of business for Villa and his displays so far have been impressive to say the least.
Keeping a clean sheet against his former club last time out should give him plenty of confidence to continue thriving between the sticks for Dean Smith’s side.
