Emiliano Martinez is enjoying a fantastic debut season at Aston Villa thus far.
The 28-year-old has played every minute of every Premier League game since joining on a four-year deal from Arsenal last September and has played his part in the Villans boasting the fourth-best defensive record and the second-most clean sheets (11) in the division this term.
Former Villa striker Peter Crouch is a big fan of Martinez and hailed the Argentine as a ‘critical’ signing for the Villans, while admitting being ‘confused’ as to why Arsenal sold him.
When asked if Aston Villa were the league’s most improved team, he replied [via Daily Mail]: “No denying what an excellent year it has been. What impressed me was how solid they looked. The signing of Emi Martinez has been critical. I couldn’t understand why Arsenal sold him and was even more confused by that decision on Saturday.”
Martinez has made 21 league appearances this season and has saved 77.1% of 96 shots on target, so he has been a hard goalkeeper to beat.
The 28-year-old is also outperforming his expected goals conceded (28.8) statistics, so he looks a shrewd signing by Villa. He made only 38 appearances between 2010 and 2020 for Arsenal, but their loss is Villa’s gain.
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Martinez is flourishing with regular playing time and is staking a claim as one of the best goalkeepers in the Premier League, as evidenced by his performance figures from this season.
Signed for £20m, he wasn’t a cheap acquisition, but he has been money well spent. Villa put a lot of faith in the 28-year-old and he has more than vindicated it, so Crouch is right to pinpoint him as a key factor in what has been a tremendous season so far for the Midlanders.
