Emi Martinez claims he never wanted to join Arsenal

Emi Martinez aims another dig at his former club Arsenal.

The Argentinian goalkeeper claims that he never wanted to join the North London club in the first place.

Last summer he made a permanent switch to Aston Villa where his performances earned him first-choice stopper for Argentina.

During his eight-year spell with Arsenal, he endured a number of loan spells and struggled to earn the No.1 spot under Mikel Arteta.

He was sold to Aston Villa on a £20million deal and Martinez now explains why he spent almost a decade at the Emirates.

“Arsenal came to look for me and Pepe Santoro [a coach at Independiente] told me that the train only passes once in a lifetime,” Martinez revealed. “My family and my agents thought the same. So, the decision was more for them than anything else.”

“I didn’t want to go. I did not regret it, but I wanted to play in Independiente. For a while, I thought: ‘If I stayed, in two years I will make my debut.’ My family] lacked a little financially. I did it more for that than sports.”

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