EMILIANO MARTINEZ has risked the wrath of Arsenal fans by claiming he has mad a ‘step up’ by moving to Aston Villa.
The Gunners decided to cash in on the Argentine goalkeeper with Bernd Leno unmoveable as No1 for boss Mikel Arteta.
Villa came in with a £20m offer that was too good to turn down, and Martinez has made a super start to his career in the Midlands.
Now, speaking to Sky Sports, the 28-year-old has admitted he HAD to make the move for first-team football.
And he says it will only help his ultimate ambition of become Argentina No1.
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He said: “I’m in the best shape of my career and when I didn’t have the security of that game time, I wasn’t sure about staying.
“I’m fighting to be Argentina’s number one, that’s my dream.
“Aston Villa is a massive club, I had no doubts over coming here.
“Everyone thinks it’s a step down going from Arsenal to Villa, but I actually think it’s a step up in my career.”
His comments were met with agreement by many on social media.
James Rowe wrote: “It is a step up in his career because he will be a number one and will increase his chances of become Argentina number one for the national team. A great move for him and his career IMO.”
A Manchester United fan cheekily chipped in: “He ain’t wrong Villa have more Champions League than Arsenal.”
And a Gunners fan solenly tweeted: “Our loss is Villa’s gain.”
Arsenal keeper Leno was ruled out of the end-of-season run-in when he picked up a leg injury.
That saw Martinez don the gloves, and he impressed many with his commanding performances.
But now it is Villa fans who get to see him in action, albeit on TV with the coronavirus pandemic still keeping fans out of grounds.
He added: “People don’t realise how much I’d been fighting to get on the bench. I had nine goalkeepers in front of me
“Once on the bench, I wanted to be number one. Once I got the number one shirt, and I wasn’t sure I was going to keep it.
“I said I’ll go and be the number one somewhere else.
“My ambition was always trying to be number one at Arsenal, coming through their academy was not easy.
“People that talk outside of football know nothing about football.”
