Gary Neville spots ‘Agonising’ Emi Martinez footage in Aston Villa v Arsenal
Aston Villa star Emi Martinez was caught in an “agonising” moment by Gary Neville during the 2-2 draw with Arsenal on Saturday.
The Villans conceded the opening goal at the Emirates on 18 January from a Gabriel Martinelli strike that the Argentine goalkeeper desperately tried to prevent from going in.
Unai Emery’s side struggled to make their mark early on but fought back from two goals down with strikes from Youri Tielemans and Ollie Watkins to take a point.
Speaking live on Sky Sports Premier League while watching replays (18 January, 18:04 pm), the former Manchester United star was sympathetic towards the 32-year-old, saying: “He tries to keep it out Martinez and he is desperate.
“As he is sprawling back, he’s trying to get his hand to it as quick as possible but just can’t.
“As you can see there, it is agonising for Martinez, the goalkeeper.”
Emi Martinez in agonising Aston Villa footage
The Villa Park outfit had a major improvement in the second half as they came back from a two-goal deficit to pick up a valuable point.
Martinez was unfortunate to not claw the opener away before the ball crossed the line but was never going to fool the referee.
Ultimately though, it did not matter as goals from Tielemans and Watkins brought the Villans back.
Emery’s decision to bring on Lucas Digne proved to be an inspired change as his cross was inch-perfect to allow Tielemans to head home to start the comeback.
The Villans could find themselves four points off the Champions League qualification places if Chelsea beat Wolves on Monday evening (20 January).
Villa will be confident of catching them though because they are unbeaten in their last four matches after snatching a draw from the jaws of defeat.
In other Villa news, Louie Barry could be handed a first-team chance at Villa, according to an expert.
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