Mueez Ajao
– Aston Villa boss Unai Emery has slammed Tottenham Hotspur transfer target Emiliano Martinez after his actions against Arsenal.
– Villa were losing 3-2 in the late stages of Saturday’s clash with Arsenal having twice led at 1-0 and 2-1.
– Arsenal rallied to take the lead through a rather fortuitous Martinez own goal.
Also Read: Arsenal produce stunning comeback win over Aston Villa to return top
– Villa were throwing the kitchen sink at Arsenal in an attempt to find a leveller, which included Martinez going up for a late set piece.
– We all love seeing this when it goes right – we’re thinking of Jimmy Glass for Carlisle United – but sometimes it goes very, very wrong.
– Arsenal cleared the ball and basically walked the ball into the net through Gabriel Martinelli with Martinez nowhere to be seen.
– Villa would have lost at 3-2 and another goal didn’t really change anything but Emery really wasn’t happy with Tottenham target Martinez.
– Emery came out after the game and was clearly annoyed with Martinez for going up to join the Villa attack.
– Emery told talkSPORT that Martinez made that decision on his own and it was not an order from the Villa coaching staff.
– The Spaniard admitted that he doesn’t like this kind of thing, believing the statistics show that sending a goalkeeper forward doesn’t work.
– “Our game plan is, of course, quality really and on the pitch they have to take the decision,” said Emery. “He decided in the last action to go to the corner offensively, but I don’t like it. But I told him nothing, before or after because in all my career I have never told our goalkeepers to do it and the statistical data is going against the teams that are going with the goalkeeper more than scoring any goals,” he added.
– This continues Emery’s rather interesting comments about Martinez.
– The Villa boss was recently quoted as saying that Villa need to learn how to play out from the goalkeeper and can’t just go long all the time.
– Emery and Martinez worked together at Arsenal but this annoyance may only ramp up rumours about a summer move – possibly to Tottenham Hotspur.
– Give Me Sport claim that Tottenham are looking towards Aston Villa stopper Martinez as a potential replacement for Hugo Lloris.
– Lloris now 36 and Tottenham need to think about finding a successor to the Frenchman, with Martinez a prime target.
– A World Cup winner with Argentina, Martinez is bound to attract major interest and any more friction between him and Emery may spark Tottenham into life with a summer bid.
