I can not believe that some Arsenal fans are still obsessed by Emiliano Martinez.
I have never known an Arsenal player to have played so little, but has so many fan boys.
Arsenal on seemingly on the verge of signing Aaron Ramsdale from Sheffield United for £24million.
This has led loads of idiots to say “only Arsenal could sell one of the best keepers in the league for £14million to sign a bloke that got relegated for £30million”.
Let’s Ignore the way they are undervaluing the Martinez deal and over valuing the Ramsdale one for a second…
Are these people deluded? Let us remind ourselves of the Martinez situation:
- Martinez had been at Arsenal for 10 years
- In that time he had 6 loan deals
- He had played 15 Premier League games in 10 years for Arsenal
- He was 2nd choice to Bernd Leno
- Leno had 300 top flight games to his name
- Martinez had 1 year left on his contract and refused to sign a new one unless he was guaranteed first team football
- Arsenal can not guarantee anyone first team football
- So he left
Martinez turns 29-years-old in a few months. We sold him a few days shy of his 28th birthday.
So we got £18million for a 28-year-old goal keeper who had just a handful of appearances to his name and was demanding first team football. So in demand was he that he joined Aston Villa who finished the season 17th.
Arsenal did not want to let Martinez go. We offered him a new deal.
Instead of stay and fight for his place at a top club, Martinez decided to leave and join a club who would be battling towards the bottom of the table.
Part of me thinks “fair play he wanted to play first team football”. The other part of me thinks “he found his level with Aston Villa”.
The reason his fee was low was due to having a year left on his contract and there being no one other than Aston Villa interested in him.
One year on and I do not exactly see many teams knocking down Villa’s door to sign Martinez. He has found his level. A lower to mid-table Premier League team.
So on to Ramsdale…
Ramsdale’s situation is very different to Martinez.
He has just turned 23-years-old; so we can still talk about the potential he has as a keeper (in comparison to Martinez who was 28 when we sold him).
Despite his age, he already has 2 top flight seasons under his belt – with 75 Premier League games for Bournemouth and Sheffield United.
That is more than 20 Premier League games than Martinez who is 6 years his senior!
So whilst Arsenal sold a keeper who was at his peak, unlikely to improve, they would be signing a young keeper who will only get better.
Ramsdale also has 3 years left on his contract – so like with Ben White his club can afford to keep hold of him if their terms are not met.
Arsenal did not have this option with Martinez. The choices were:
- Sell to Villa for £18million
- Keep and lose for free in 12 months
We can debate whether a deal up towards £24million is too much for Ramsdale – it probably is about right.
But ultimately Edu and his team know the accounts, the maths.
If they think signing Ramsdale for £30million does not impact our financial ability to sign players elsewhere, then it really does not matter.
Ramsdale is a good keeper and in a years time could be ready to step up to be 1st choice.
My feeling is no matter what transfer business Arsenal did this summer, the same fans will moan.
Being an “Anti-Fan” and always taking a position against what you club is doing has become something people have used to gain followers and clout on Twitter.
These fans do not actually have their own opinion. They just disagree with everything.
Ramsdale joins Arsenal, I will be backing him from the terraces. Meanwhile the moaners and complainers are probably filming themselves watching the game alone on a dodgy stream.
Selling a 28 year old goalkeeper with 15 Premier League appearances for £18million and replacing him with a 23 year old goalkeeper with 75 Premier League appearances for £24million is great business
Have a good afternoon.
Keenos
She Wore A Yellow Ribbon 
Well said. Absolutely spot on.
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I understand your point here, but you’re seemingly doing all you can to belittle Martinez and big up Ramsdale, which given the season they both had, is a little naïve. Keepers are renowned for peaking at a much later age than the other positions, so knocking the ages is odd. Some of the best goalkeepers in EPL history had their peak into their 30s, David Seaman is an obvious example of this. Villa’s researchers looked past the apps:years ratio and looked more towards the player’s current form and potential form and they’ve proved to be right. Arsenal are now once again on the look out for a first-choice goalkeeper and will likely have to make the same promises to Ramsdale that they wouldn’t make to Martinez with no guarantee that Ramsdale will hit the peak required to return Arsenal to where they should be for several years. If Arsenal want to be making steps towards the top 4 once more, I don’t see a 23 year old goalkeeper with back-to-back relegations having the impact required. Just an opinion.
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Another Arsenal fan with ideas well above and beyond realistic expectations. We will see where they finish in the coming seasons !
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Good piece. You can’t please everyone, especially those who see things black or white and never look at the detail. Martinez left in tears. 10 years at Arsenal had turned him from a boy to a man. I am genuinely pleased for him winning Copa America with Argentina. Do I wish he had stayed? Yes. Leno played better with Martinez in the wings. But I honestly think it may have taken Martinez another season or two to unseat Leno and he probably wouldn’t have started for Argentina as a result. If he was made first-choice, we arguably could have won a couple (the red at wolves) of points more maybe, but we may have dropped others. If he stayed to fight for his place, I think we would have finished a little higher and done better in the cups.
That however is exactly the point, he did not want to fight for his place. With a year left on his contract, £18m was probably a good deal. if he had 2 years left, we could have got twice as much or spent a year convincing him to stay. It’s a very similar situation to Van Persie to Man U (without the appearances and player of the season awards) and it’s probably the club’s fault (not Edu or Arteta) for not protecting the value of their asset with an earlier contract extension.
They are however not saints as they opted for Runarsson over Brentford’s Raya last season who is homegrown; and according to Matt Ryan, that’s what they are after now. Perhaps there were less funds last year; I don’t know. I don’t know much about Ramsdale other than he has been relegated twice but had the 2nd highest saves in the league last season behind Sam Johnstone (who may have been a cheaper alternative), and the 3rd highest saves 2 seasons ago. Those stats are usually skewed more in favour of keepers who face more shots, not necessarily the better shot-stopper. Ederson kept the 3rd fewest saves (out of 20) last season but had the most clean sheets.
We are probably overpaying due to his existing contract length and homegrown premium. I am still not convinced that investing heavily, as we are, in our defence should be the priority in this window. If as you say resources aren’t limited, then it shouldn’t matter. However, resource usually is, so recruiting a creative midfielder to share ESR’s load and also protect his development seems more important to me. The window is not closed, so let’s wait and see. Things will get tough for Arteta if Auba doesn’t find his scoring boots by the 6th game having played Chelsea, City and Spurs.
Trust in the process. Defence wins you titles, Attack wins you games.
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Don’t really understand the argument here, you say Martinez has found his level with Aston Villa (lower to mid table), which in itself is a silly statement, he still has to save the same shots a keeper in the top 4 has to save, in fact probably more shots due to the weaker defence and Arsenal finished 6 points (2 wins) ahead of Villa (mid table). Then you go on to say you would welcome Ramsdale as an Arsenal keeper who played for a team that was relegated, isn’t that his level, surely it’s not Arsenal’s level?
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Thanks for the great analysis. I hope they allow the coach and Arteta do their job.
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I as a Aston Villa fan find the statement suggesting that martinez found his level by joining my club. to say that we are a small his insulting to Martinez and Aston Villa. I would like to remind he kept 11 clean sheets and although we have we not won any trophies since the early 80,s we have been in a couple of fa cup finals we are big club with a proud history ps we are one of not so many clubs to win the eauropean cup
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I happen to agree with the article on the goalkeeping front but disagree about the type of club the Villa are. You`ve always been England`s 5th most historic club in my eyes, great history and tradition and you have the best ground in the country for me. Always had far more respect for the likes of the Villa and Everton than I have for mickey mouse plastic clubs like City and Chelsea. Just my opinion.
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Another stupid Arsenal fan, thinking they are a big club now. Villa finished 11th last year 2 places below you and only 4 points difference.we also beat you twice. Do some research before making stupid articles. Evsn thought jack has left the players brought in are off a very good quality. And more to come. Villa are on the up gunners slkpping down. UTV
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Sir. Villa finished above, Arsenal for the 1st time in god knows how many years. Please wind your neck in. Every team has there season when they finish above the so called top 6. Consistently is the thing do it again and again you might be taken seriously. Make sure you are not 1 season wonders
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” Being an “Anti-Fan” and always taking a position against what you club is doing has become something people have used to gain followers and clout on Twitter. ” Sounds like Merson….
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Martinez was goalkeeper of the tournament at the Copa America and was crucial in Argentina winning and Messi getting his first international trophy.
If you think his level is mid to lower prem, you’re deluded.
I get the desire to move on from talking about him but the guy is very obviously one of the best keepers in the prem.
Sure he had 1 year on his contract and no other buyers so the £18m was a fair valuation just leave it at that, it just makes you appear bitter and deluded saying all the other nonsense
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I’d have kept Martinez and sold Leno, based on the electric effect Emi seemed to have on the club, especially through the FA Cup run. But I know that would have been the act of an irresponsible fan rather than a professional manager with real responsibility. I wish Emi nothing but the best with Villa and with Argentina.
By the way, much as I agree with almost everything you write, it was a bit churlish to put down Villa in that way. Especially since they seem to be on the way up.
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Ramsdale has been relegated on two successive seasons how does that suggest he is good enough for Arsenal is he going for a hatrick?!!!
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Aston villa is just buying players that will take them to relegation battle,those player you are buying can never make first 11 eleven in any big club
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I usually always agree with you here but on this particular subject I have to vehemently disagree
The maths of the two transfers is about right for exactly the reasons you stated.
However and this is the big point a truly exceptional manager with real authority would have known that Martinez had the higher ceiling of the two.
Martinez is clearly the better keeper than Leno. He is more commanding in his area, excellent shotstopper and more than that he commands his backline, keeps them calm and exudes authority. Plus he fucking excels at playing out from the back which Leno does not. Which means Arteta should he sacked becuase he doesnt know what the fuck he is doing. And Edu too. He sells the keeper that plays.his system, who is home grown and keeps the one who doesn’t,.only to have to spend more the next year on another keeper. It’s piss poor whatever way you look at it.
He was coming into his own and he was our keeper an we fucking sold him. It was and is totally the wrong decesion.
Arteta hasn’t got a fucking clue when it comes to player judgement and squad building. See Willian, Soares, Cebalos, and also all the playershe has marginalised in tie squad.
His judgement for players.is very very suspect. Furthermore both he and Edu are very very very limited.in their knowledge of the European market, the African market and the Asian market.
We needed to sign Luis Campos this summer.
I believe this season will see Tue end of Arteta as his dour football will eat itself and cannibalise the team and it’s.morale.
He has ZERO time and patience with the fans the standards being produced are mediocre at best.
I am fully aware of the fact we are second since Boxing day in the league.
I am eagerly waiting to see if that can be maintained. The early signs are dreadful. The squad looks rudderless and demoralised.
This is not hating or being negative.
We still need to replace at least one striker and get an attacking midfielder. This should have taken care of first in this window.
We are nowhere near good enough right now so let’s stop pretending we are , take off the rose tinted glasses and call a spade a spade. KSE has drained this club of its very soul, divided the fanbase., delivered worst and worst seasons and it’s getting worst every year.
I am not here to he negative, as I actually agree with you most of the time. But there are terrible decesions being made at squad level.
Thankfully Per is doing an excellent job with the academy. Perhaps he should he managing the first team
So if.you dot like fans being inhapoy you too need a reality check.
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Aston villa is just buying players that will take them to relegation battle,those player you are buying can never make first 11 eleven in any big club
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You really are a first class arrogant pxxxk
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Good article👍
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