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Former Arsenal goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez has admitted that he came close to retiring following a botched loan spell at Getafe in 2017.
The current Aston Villa shot-stopper first joined Arsenal’s reserve team from Argentine club Independiente in 2010. Over the next 10 years, the Argentine was loaned out to six different clubs, as the Gunners weren’t prepared to make him their first-choice goalkeeper.
Martinez sustained an injury during another loan spell at Wolverhampton Wanderers stint in the 2015-16 season and did not play for several months. He spent the next season (2016-17) at Arsenal, making five appearances across competitions.
He joined La Liga outfit Getafe ahead of the 2017-18 campaign but could not become their go-to keeper. He ended up making only six appearances for the club across competitions.
Speaking to Ben Foster on Amazon Prime Video’s YouTube channel, Martinez admitted that the disappointing loan spell nearly convinced him to retire. He said:
“At some point in my career, I felt like throwing my gloves away.”
“When I went to Getafe, I was 24, away from England for the first time, took everyone there and played seven (six) games. I just felt at the end of the season, ‘how come I wasn’t playing?’ I’m like ‘what can I do?’”
“I started with psychology, I wanted to change my agents, I was angry at everyone.”
Fortunately, Martinez decided to weather the storm and eventually returned to Arsenal in 2018. A short loan spell at Reading followed before the Gunners finally gave him a real shot to impress.
Martinez was thoroughly impressive in the 2019-20 campaign and helped the north Londoners to the FA Cup at the end of the season. After helping them win the Community Shield against Liverpool on penalties in August 2020, Martinez joined Aston Villa for a £15.6 million fee in September of the same year.
Arsenal considering signing Lille's Jonathan David
With Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang leaving the club along with Alexandre Lacazette and Eddie Nketiah’s contracts expiring in the summer, Arsenal are in dire need of reinforcements up front. The Gunners are expected to sign at least one striker next summer, and as per Le10 Sport, Jonathan David is at the top of their wishlist.
The Canada international has been in blistering form for Lille this season, scoring 13 goals in 27 Ligue 1 appearances. If the Londoners do manage to secure the 22-year-old’s services, they wouldn’t have to think about getting another goalscorer for the foreseeable future.
Jonathan David is currently rated at £45 million (as per Transfermarkt) and still has more than three years left on his contract with Lille.
