Arsenal are currently in a bit of a shaky position with regards to their Premier League title hopes.
Last weekend, the Gunners were hoping to return to the top of the Premier League table after the latest round of musical chairs.
However, Arsenal ended up falling to a shock 2-0 defeat to Aston Villa, which left them two points below Manchester City.
Combined with Liverpool’s loss at Crystal Palace, Arsenal’s defeat saw Man City claim the initiative at the top of the table.
What was especially hard to swallow for the Gunners was the fact that one of their former long-time players played a big part in their downfall.
The player in question is Emiliano Martinez, whose career has gone up into the stratosphere since leaving Arsenal and joining Villa in 2020.
TalkSPORT pundit and Arsenal fan Darren Bent spoke about Martinez on the radio station, praising the keeper and also bemoaning the Gunners’ decision to sell him.
What did Darren Bent say about Arsenal and Emiliano Martinez?
After deeming Martinez “one of the best in the league,” Bent said: “You know what the worst part is? Remember, we had Martinez. Martinez (is better than David Raya).”
For most of his time at Arsenal, the Martinez was a perennial second-choice, but in 2020, an injury to Bernd Leno saw him enjoy an extended run in the team.
The 31-year-old did very well and staked a claim to become first-choice, but Mikel Arteta decided to stick with Leno, so the Argentine decided to up sticks in the summer.
Since joining Villa, Martinez has won the Copa America and the World Cup with Argentina, and has helped the Villans into the Europa Conference League semi-finals.
And on Sunday, he played a big part in blunting Arsenal’s 2023/24 title hopes with a solid performance en route to a clean sheet in a 2-0 win.
For all we know, Martinez may well still be the Gunners’ first-choice had Arteta decided to keep him.
As it turned out, Leno ended up leaving, and now his replacement – Aaron Ramsdale – looks set to leave this summer.
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