Ian Wright says Arsenal decision to sell Emi Martinez left him ‘devastated’

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Ian Wright told BBC’s Match of the Day show on Saturday that the departure of Emiliano Martinez left him upset.

The stopper opted to move to Aston Villa for £17 million in order to play regular first-team football.

Martinez holds aspirations of becoming the Argentina custodian and in order to do that he needs to be playing.

The 28-year-old has played every game since arriving at Villa Park and has helped Villa to some good results.

Dean Smith’s men sit tenth in the Premier League and his move to leave Arsenal looks like a good one.

Martinez was once again in fine form as Villa beat Wolves on Saturday and Wright misses him at the Emirates Stadium.

He told Match of the Day: “I was devastated to see him leave Arsenal, but he wants to be Argentina number one.

“He has five clean sheets from nine Premier League games and he is just a very good goalkeeper.

“Martinez has done brilliantly at Villa and he is helping them to win games.”

TBR View – Villa man made the right choice to leave Arsenal

The 28-year-old spent nine years at Arsenal but managed just 38 appearances in the first-team.

With Bernd Leno injured he earned a run in the team at the back end of last season and Mikel Arteta might have hoped to convince him to stay.

He was instrumental in the Gunners’ run to FA Cup glory, helping Arsenal beat Man City and Chelsea to win the competition.

Leno has been one of Arsenal’s better performers this season and his chances of regular football would have been slim.

At this moment in time, Martinez’s move still looks like a good one for all parties.

On current form, Aston Villa could well finish above Arsenal this season.