Gabby Agbonlahor has discussed Tom Heaton‘s chances of winning back his starting place at Aston Villa given the form of Emiliano Martinez.
The former Villa striker watched his former club produce a superb performance against Arsenal last weekend, beating the Gunners 3-0 at the Emirates Stadium.
Whilst the performance of a number of Villa players stood out, Spanish ‘keeper Martinez continued his impressive start to life at the club, having signed from Arsenal in the summer for £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, and Agbonlahor has now tipped him to keep his place when Heaton returns to full fitness.
Heaton, who suffered a serious knee injury back in January, is yet to return to full fitness, and Agbonlahor has spoken about his pending return to action after the England international played 63 minutes in their 2-2 draw with Burnley’s under-23’s.
“Martinez is definitely number one,” the 34-year-old told Football Insider.
“It’s unfortunate for Tom Heaton that he got injured when he did forced Aston Villa to go and buy a keeper, if he hadn’t got injured they wouldn’t have gone and bought Martinez.
“Martinez has been unbelievable, he’s been strong and good on the ball, just a perfect goalkeeper that Aston Villa need.
“They’ve filled the position and it means Tom Heaton is not going to play.
“It’s like if you’re a left-winger you’re not going to play because of Jack Grealish. Certain positions in the team you know now that you’re not going to be able to get into.”
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This leve of competition is a healthy thing for Dean Smith to have at Aston Villa. Heaton would certainly be deserving of his place back in the starting XI given the form he showed prior to his injury but Martinez’s performances cannot be ignored either.
With Villa in such good form, Smith would be silly to change such a vital position in his starting XI and, for that reason alone, Heaton may just have to wait and be patient for his chance.
