Arsenal winger Gabriel Martinelli has admitted there is a player who no longer plays for the club that he really admires.
The summer transfer window may open for business, but Mikel Arteta will also have his eyes on the numerous Arsenal players currently away on international duty.
Playing across both the Euros and the Copa America, Arsenal have a number of players who they’ll be hoping to see return to the Emirates unscathed later this summer.
Gabriel Martinelli is one of those players as he currently represents Brazil at this summer’s Copa America.
And the 23-year-old has now been speaking about his admiration for a player who Arteta allowed to leave the club back in 2020.
Gabriel Martinelli hails player Arsenal sold in 2020 for £17m
Since Arteta was appointed as the manager, the Spaniard has overseen considerable player turnover with unwanted players not kept around.
And the large majority of decisions made by Arteta and Edu Gaspar have certainly worked out for the best, but there has to be questions asked whether they got it right with Emiliano Martinez.
The Argentine goalkeeper made the move from north London to Aston Villa back in 2020 for a fee in the region of £17m.
Since leaving, Martinez has gone on to get his hands on the World Cup, Copa America and has secured Champions League football for next season.
Speaking to The Players’ Tribune, Martinelli has hailed the former Arsenal player for his “high quality” both on and off the pitch.
“As soon as I arrived at Arsenal, an angel came to take care of me. An Argentine angel … but OK hahahah. It was Emiliano Martínez, one of our goalkeepers at the time,” he added.
“Man, Emi was really solid. Sometimes people think he’s a bit cocky, a bit loose, but he’s not like that at all. The guy is a great partner, has a good heart, and was important in my arrival on the team.”
“Emi speaks Portuguese, so he helped me with communication. He explained to me how day-to-day life at the club worked. He introduced me to the employees. He would drive home so we could go to training, or to the Emirates on game day, and then he would take me back. In the first season he invited my entire family to spend New Year’s at his house. The guy really welcomed me, took care of me as if he were my older brother.”
What Emi Martinez has since said about leaving Arsenal
It has now been four years since the 31-year-old made the switch from the Emirates to Villa Park and has racked up 159 appearances for Villa.
“So, after 10 years, I decided to leave, and it was very difficult. My family didn’t understand why I was leaving when I was at such a good level at Arsenal, but it was my decision to leave and I’m really proud I did it,” he told Sky Sports back in 2021.
“It was a gamble, but I always believe that if you stay in the comfort zone, you will never reach anything in life. I decided to take the step up.”
It was certainly a risky move and one which Arsenal may well regret given they have experimented with various goalkeepers since his departure.