Did Arsenal Accurately Project Goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez's Potential?
Arsenal third-choice goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez is expected to make his UEFA Champions League debut against Anderlecht, so will he vindicate manager Arsene Wenger's trust?
Arsenal No. 1 Wojciech Szczesny, a Premier League Golden Glove recipient, is serving a suspension having been red carded in a 4-1 win over Galatasaray.
No. 2 David Ospina, who has represented the Colombia national team 50 times, is out injured with a thigh problem.
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Behind two established goalkeepers, Martinez is reduced to taking selfies, tweeting out team news, being paid to watch Arsenal games from the bench, and daydreaming of another chance to impress Wenger.
| Argentina | GK | 22 | 6'4" | 187 lbs |
After debuting in Arsenal's 6-1 win over Coventry City two years ago, Martinez expressed his readiness for more first-team starts.
"If he [Wenger] has to play the kid that is better than the veteran, he will," Martinez said, per Ole (h/t ESPN). "They played me and I responded well, so they know they can rely on me."
Reliable is not a word you associate with Martinez.
When you think of him in an Arsenal shirt, you reflect back to the five goals he conceded in a 7-5 win over Reading, which was condensed into one moment.
Diving to his left, he unfathomably parried Reading defensive midfielder Mikele Leigertwood's routine shot into the net.
Wenger watched on in bewilderment, assistant manager Steve Bould crossed his arms in disgust, while Martinez nervously clenched his jaw as Reading celebrated their 3-0 lead.
Martinez would pick the ball out of his net another two times.
His positioning throughout the game was erratic, he was not communicating effectively with his defenders and his slow reaction speed was a red flag.
When Martinez was 16 years old, he could not believe Arsenal had offered him a trial.
"When I was told that I was going to have a trial at Arsenal I thought that someone was joking," Martinez said, per Radio Rivadavia (h/t Patricio Figueroa at Sky Sports). "I thought that they were talking about Arsenal de Sarandi, the team called like that but that plays in Argentina."
Signed from Independiente for €1.7/£1.3 million, Arsenal could have sought alternatives to Martinez.
- Maksym Koval, 17, Metalurh Zaporizhya → Dynamo Kyiv: €3.1/£2.4 million (2010).
- Matej Delac, 17, Inter Zapresic → Chelsea: €2.5/£2 million (2009).
- Jan Oblak, 17, Olimpija Ljubljana → Benfica: €1.7/£1.3 million (2010).
Martinez would be last if you were to power rank the aforementioned goalkeepers on current ability.
- Jan Oblak: Once-in-a-generation shot-stopper, who is La Liga's most expensive goalkeeper ever. But, he is stuck in a vexing situation at Atletico Madrid.
- Maksym Koval: Possesses world-class potential and is the heir apparent to Oleksandr Shovkovskiy.
- Matej Delac: A prodigy who was playing professional football in Croatia at 15 years of age. Nowadays, Delac is a well-travelled loanee playing first-team games. Recently, he extended his Chelsea contract by two years. Overshadowed by the rise of Thibaut Courtois.
- Damian Martinez: Largely inactive; had loan spells at Oxford United and Sheffield Wednesday.
How great of a prospect was Martinez?
Argentine goalkeeping coach Miguel Angel Santoro was cautiously optimistic.
"I am sure that he [Martinez] will not only stay with the English club [Arsenal] but we will also see him in goal for the first team too," Santoro said, per Radio Rivadavia (h/t the London Evening Standard). "[But] he still needs some time because he is young."
Though, when Martinez played at the 2009 FIFA U17 World Cup, he was not one of the goalkeepers selected for the outstanding players list, per FIFA's official website.
- Benjamin Siegrist (Switzerland; FIFA U17 World Cup Golden Glove recipient).
- Coey Turipa (New Zealand).
- Dami Paul (Nigeria).
- Iman Sadeghi (Iran).
- Jose Antonio Rodriguez (Mexico).
- Mehmet Deniz (Turkey).
None of the aforementioned goalkeepers have made a name for themselves in Europe.
The FIFA U17 World Cup goalkeeper who transitioned the best to top-flight football was excluded from the outstanding players list—Germany's Marc-Andre ter Stegen.
That is the only similarity Ter Stegen, now at Barcelona, shares with Martinez.
Martinez has not developed into the goalkeeper Arsenal projected him to become, but he has a chance to start afresh against Anderlecht.
Statistics via WhoScored
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