Arsenal fans react as Aston Villa's Emi Martinez makes FIFA Best team of 2024
Today at 11:15 AM
Emiliano Martinez has gone from strength to strength since swapping Arsenal for Aston Villa back in 2020.
The Argentine never quite managed to nail down a starting berth at the Emirates Stadium, save for a run in 2020 when Bernd Leno was injured.
Mikel Arteta opted to stick with Leno at Arsenal and sell Emiliano Martinez, with Aston Villa paying £20million for his services.
Since arriving at Villa Park, Martinez has helped Unai Emery’s side into the Champions League and has also won a World Cup and two Copa America titles with Argentina.
And now, in terms of individual accolades, Martinez now has two Yashin Trophies and two The Best FIFA Men’s Goalkeeper awards, as well as making this year’s Best Men’s XI.
The 32-year-old beat Gianluigi Donnarumma, Ederson, Andriy Lunin, Mike Maignan, David Raya and Unai Simon to the award.
Martinez’s latest accolade as the world’s best goalkeeper prompted some reaction from Arsenal fans.
Arsenal fans torn over Emi Martinez’s latest FIFA Best accolades
Martinez’s stratospheric rise to the top of the game after leaving Arsenal continues to be a sore point for some Gunners supporters.
One fan said: “Letting Martinez leave Arsenal should be considered as one of the biggest mistakes of Mikel Arteta at the club.”
Another said: “A good keeper….. One of the greatest mistake they did was letting Martinez leave.”
Meanwhile, one supporter admitted: “We might have fumbled.”
The reply to this was: “Big time my bro… Martinez is a catalyst for Arteta. With him Arteta won the FA and the Community Shield in his first season at Arsenal as a coach.”
However, some Arsenal fans didn’t see letting Martinez go as a problem, with some claiming David Raya is better than the Villa man.
One Arsenal fan said: “He plays for Aston Villa for a reason mate.. not even top 3 keeper in the league. I’d take Raya over him every day of the week.”
Another said “I’d rather stick with Raya”, while another wrote “did you miss a nap? We have Raya”.
What Monchi said about Martinez
Aston Villa director of football Monchi sung Martinez’s praises after he won the Yashin Award in November.
"He is an important part of the Aston Villa brand, it shows the growth of this club," said the Spaniard.
"Having the best goalkeeper in the world, totally loyal and involved with the day-to-day running of the club.
"Emi is more than our goalkeeper, he is a reference in the dressing room, the club, for our fans, within the Premier League…
"He is one of the pillars on which we want to continue growing, he represents what we want to transmit to society, to compete to the maximum for everything that is presented to us."
