Glenn Hoddle admits surprise over Emi Martinez’s Arsenal exit

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Glenn Hoddle admitted to BT Sport (broadcast on 12/12; 13:08) that he was surprised to see Arsenal sell Emi Martinez in the summer, and insisted that he has done a fantastic job since moving to Aston Villa.

Martinez was one of Arsenal’s best players towards the end of last season. He came in after Bernd Leno suffered an injury just after the campaign’s restart.

Gunners fans would have been forgiven for being fearful after losing Leno. However, the Argentinian was outstanding. And that left Mikel Arteta with a dilemma that he may not have expected to have.

It was Martinez who started the Community Shield for Arsenal this season. However, within a couple of weeks, he had joined the Villans permanently. As reported by the Evening Standard, he cost £20 million.

Leno has certainly not had a bad season. But you could understand why Villa supporters may feel that they got the better end of the deal.

Martinez has been superb for Dean Smith’s side. His latest performance saw Hoddle name him the man of the match as Villa beat Wolves 1-0.

And during the contest, the former England boss admitted that he expected the 28-year-old to be playing regularly for the Gunners this term.

“Yeah, I think at the time it was nip or tuck,” he told BT Sport, when asked whether it was a surprise to see him leave Arsenal. “I thought he was going to end up as Arsenal’s first-team goalkeeper.

“But the decision’s been made and he’s done a fantastic job since he’s come here to Villa.”

It was an incredibly difficult decision for Arteta to make. And had Leno left, there is every chance that he would have been the one to prove a point.

The sale did have an upside for Arsenal. It seemingly handed Arteta’s transfer kitty the boost that allowed for Thomas Partey to be signed later on in the window.

But given Martinez’s current form, it is hard to argue against the idea that Villa produced a masterstroke in the summer by signing the goalkeeper.