‘He has everything’: Ray Parlour blown away by player Arsenal sold for a ‘snip’

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Arsenal legend Ray Parlour has waxed lyrical about Emiliano Martinez, who has been in sensational form since leaving the Gunners.

The 28-year-old, who spent 10 years on the Gunners’ books, swapped the Emirates Stadium for Villa Park in a reported £20million deal last summer.

Martinez, who spent most of his Arsenal career as a deputy, excelled in the absence of Bernd Leno at the tail end of last season and in the Community Shield at the start of 2020-21.

However, a desire for regular first-team football and winning caps for Argentina led to the player seeking first-team action elsewhere, culminating in a move to the West Midlands side.

Martinez has made 22 Premier League appearances for Villa, keeping 12 clean sheets and helping Dean Smith’s side to eighth in the table.

He was especially outstanding in the 0-0 draw against Brighton at the weekend, pulling off a string of saves to ensure Villa got a point.

“I think he has been an absolutely brilliant signing for Aston Villa,” Parlour told talkSPORT. “When they played Brighton, the other night, he was sensational.

“Three or four world-class saves to keep them in the game. Since he signed from Arsenal, he had that brilliant end to the season, played in the FA Cup final and played really well.

“Then got a move to Aston Villa because he wanted to be number one. I don’t think any Aston Villa fan would think he’s done this well because he has been an absolute snip for £20million.

“You talk about strikers winning you games. But goalkeepers are so important if you want to be successful. He’s getting better and better – he has everything.

“I am sure a lot of Arsenal fans out there will be saying ‘why didn’t we keep him?’ ‘Have we picked the right keeper?’. I love Leno as well. I think he’s top-class as well.”

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While some Arsenal fans have bemoaned Martinez’s departure, wondering why the club has let him leave, you can’t begrudge him for wanting first-team football elsewhere, something difficult to obtain at the Emirates Stadium given Leno’s presence.

It was just one of those unfortunate situations where Arsenal were stuck between a rock and a hard place – they couldn’t really drop Leno and they couldn’t promise Martinez more game time, so something had to give.