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It was a crush, love at first sight. Emiliano Martineza young Argentine goalkeeper who had been followed for more than a year by a scout from Arsenal, was subjected to different technical and physical tests before being signed by the English club. At barely 17 years old, he left the Independiente pension and traveled with the emblematic former Red goalkeeper Pepé Santoro to London. At the last lunch before returning to Buenos Aires, Arsène Wenger He presented himself at the table, shook hands with the Argentine duo and officially welcomed them. “There the dream began to come true”Santoro told infobae.
The Back he would have a long way to go and skills to develop. The stiff competition would be embodied by the Spanish Manuel Almunia, the Poles Lukasz Fabianski and Wojciech Szczesny, and the Italian Vito Mannone. Other renowned goalkeepers would arrive later, such as the Colombian David Ospinathe czech Petr Cech and the german Bernd Leno, who invited him to look for filming and continuity in other teams. He was loaned out to several of the British promotion (Oxford United, Sheffield Wednesday, Rotherham United, Wolverhampton and Reading) and experimented with Getafe in Spain in the First Division.
Despite the comings and goings, Wenger never wanted to get rid of him since he understood that sooner or later, he was going to pay off for the club. The French coach had the keys to the institution and was the one who entered each entry or exit. Before each attempt to dismiss the goalkeeper from Mar del Plata, he managed to dissuade him. From the financial point of view, making him the third highest paid goalkeeper in all of Europe, to the mental point of view, convincing him in repeated talks that he would soon have the opportunity for him and he would explode.
Until today, one was unknown. grand phrase with which Wenger kept Martínez focused in 2017, a season in which he added five official matches for Arsenal (two in the Premier League and three in national cups) before the loan to Getafe. a close friend of Back, who had been his teammate at the Independiente pension, traveled to visit him in England and witnessed his coach’s comment with him present. It all happened at the Arsenal training center.
Alejandro Muñozformer promise of Rojo and passing through the Argentine youth, reveals: “I went to practice and there was just the Viejo there. Everyone knows Wenger as the Viejothat’s what he always says EmiHe doesn’t call him by his name. She asked him if I was her friend, she approached him and asked him to translate something for her. “He is going to be one of the best goalkeepers in history.” Me, with goosebumps, first because he spoke to me the Viejo and second because he said that about Emi. Emi he stayed, looked at me and translated for me. ‘Come on, really?’ I tell him. and there the Viejo he nodded. I could not believe it”.
The Monsters Muñoz, as he calls him Back, he realized at that moment that his friend was launched to achieve great things. “Wenger had it up there. He couldn’t make him play because he had figures like Cech and Leno, but he had him as a little son in the club ”, is the final sentence.
In the visit that Alejandro made to Back Martínez in recent days, witnessed the landing of Unai Emery, brand new Aston Villa coach and who had previously gone through Arsenal. “Today Emi He is one of the goalkeepers who plays best with his feet. Emery told him that he needed him to play from behind: “You are key,” he told him. You realize that he is doing things very well when a guy like Emery, a champion with Villarreal, Arsenal and PSG, comes and tells you that you are his pillar and his captain”.
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