RECORD-BREAKING Emiliano Martinez has revealed he wants to stay at Aston Villa for “many years to come”.
The Argentine World Cup winner had been tipped to make a high-profile move this summer after admitting he craved Champions’ League football.
Martinez confessed it would be “easy” to move to one of Europe’s top clubs who regularly compete at that level.
And when manager Unai Emery criticised him for contesting a late corner which Arsenal scored from, it seemed Villa would struggle to hold on to their No1.
However, the 30-year-old kept his 33rd clean sheet in 99 Villa appearances to surpass Mark Bosnich and Brad Friedel’s record of 32 in 100 appearances against Bournemouth at the weekend.
Afterwards he spoke of his pride at setting the new standard and confessed: “It’s a great feeling.
“If we had won 3-1, I would go home and not be able to sleep for hours because I always think about what I could have done better to keep the clean sheet.
“I’m very ambitious, I’m so driven to improve. I try to transmit that to the back four and to the starting XI.”
Martinez joined Villa from Arsenal in 2020 for a bargain £17million and revealed he has never felt more at home.
He said: “My career went through the roof since I joined the club.
FREE BETS AND SIGN UP DEALS – BEST NEW CUSTOMER OFFERS
“I’ve always said I’m grateful to this club and I love being here.
“My family is happy at the club, my boy is obsessed with playing football and he plays for the Under-6s in the Academy.
“We’re loving our time here and hopefully there are many years to come.”
Martinez was a key part of Argentina’s World Cup triumph in Qatar
————————
By: Graeme Bryce
Title: Emi Martinez breaks silence on Aston Villa future as he’s linked with transfer exit to play in Champions League
Sourced From: www.thesun.co.uk/sport/21779641/emi-martinez-aston-villa-transfer-exit-champions-league/
Published Date: Mon, 20 Mar 2023 17:51:53 +0000
