John O’Shea has admitted that he has been scratching his head wondering why Arsenal allowed one player to leave under Mikel Arteta.
Arsenal have got very little wrong in the transfer market since Edu and Mikel Arteta took charge at the Emirates. The Gunners have moved themselves into title contention. And they made an encouraging return to the Champions League this season.
They have made some brave calls, letting the likes of Mesut Ozil and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang go on free transfers. And some of their signings have proved to be inspired.
But it is also probably fair to say – understandably – that they have not got everything right.
John O’Shea questions why Arsenal sold one player
And perhaps one of the mistakes Arsenal potentially made was letting Emiliano Martinez leave the Emirates back in 2020.
Of course, for much of Martinez’s time, he was loaned out. And he only got his chance after Bernd Leno suffered an injury at Brighton.
The Argentinian was part of the side which won the FA Cup. But few could have imagined what would come next for Martinez, who would win the Copa America and World Cup with his country.
Obviously, Martinez was part of the Aston Villa side which put a dent in Arsenal’s title hopes last week. And speaking on No Tippy Tappy Football, John O’Shea suggested he does not quite understand why the Gunners let him go.
“I actually played with Emi. He came on loan to Reading would you believe? He’d been a bit of a journey goalkeeper at Arsenal. I think he’d had a few loans and it wasn’t working out for him. And I don’t want to say we got all his confidence going at Reading,” he said.
“It’s been incredible to see. You knew he was a talented goalkeeper. It kind of happens with players, doesn’t it, they go to a club and get a bit of confidence going. And he went back to Arsenal that time and I think they won the cup that year if I’m not mistaken.
“Why they let him go, as you said, you’re scratching your head, going why did they?”
Gunners fans must wonder what might have been
It was always going to be interesting to see who Arteta would opt for as his number one in his first full season.
Leno was much more established at the highest level. But Martinez played brilliantly when he got his chance.
In hindsight, Arsenal probably did make the wrong call. At the very least, they should have got considerably more than £20 million for him.
But the likes of Leno, Aaron Ramsdale or David Raya have not let Arsenal down since.
However, Arsenal fans would be forgiven for wondering what could have happened had Martinez stayed.
The post 'Why they let him go': Pundit says he doesn't understand why Mikel Arteta allowed £20m star to leave Arsenal appeared first on TBR Football.
