Emi Martinez throws away ‘brilliant’ work after Aston Villa howler v Arsenal
Emi Martinez will have left the pitch with his head in his hands after Aston Villa were condemned to a 2-0 defeat against Arsenal on Saturday (24 August).
The 31-year-old is one of the first names on Unai Emery’s teamsheet, and understandably so, with some suggesting that he is now the best goalkeeper in the world.
However, even he can experience a bad day at the office, and that is exactly what happened after Gary Neville lauded him for a “brilliant” save in the first half to deny Bukayo Saka [Sky Sports, 5:51 pm].
Despite keeping eight clean sheets for the Villans last season, two of which came against the Gunners, he will not want to rewatch Thomas Partey’s goal anytime soon, having palmed it into his bottom corner.
Reacting to the moment via Sky Sports [24 August, 7:16 pm], Neville said: “Saka just holds the ball up and lays it back. Martinez should do better. In the final part, they get a bit of a helping hand from the Argentinian goalkeeper, who gets a full hand on it and should save it.”
Emi Martinez left red-faced after Aston Villa defeat v Arsenal
Despite the shot-stopper’s underlying statistics, making two saves, maintaining a 78 per cent pass completion, making two high claims and nine recoveries [FotMob], he will leave the pitch disappointed.
There is no doubt that the 31-year-old is one of the top ‘keepers in the Premier League, ranking in the top 89 percentile for post-shot expected goals minus goals allowed, the top 99 percentile for crosses stopped, and the top 94 percentile for defensive actions outside of the penalty area [FBref].
Martinez already made one superb stop to thwart Saka from hitting the back of the net, but he will be beating himself up after letting Partey’s long-range effort rocket past him.
The clash at Villa Park was always going to be a difficult one for the Villans, with Mikel Arteta’s men aiming to lift the Premier League title ahead of Manchester City, but a 2-0 loss seems unfair.
A one-goal difference would have been a more respectable scoreline, and it could have just as easily been a 1-0 win for Emery’s men, but the Gunners just got the luck when Villa were out of it.
In other Aston Villa news, Dan Bardell predicts what will happen in the chase for Ivan Toney.
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