Connect with us

EPL

Mental games you didn’t know Emi Martinez played in

Published

on

SportVectru Ad


Chaos has followed Emiliano Martinez throughout his senior career.

Advertisement

The Argentine goalkeeper has evolved into a national hero following his antics at the 2022 World Cup. Whether it’s the shootout heroics or the huge save to deny Randal Kolo Muani in the dying embers of a thrilling final, Martinez played a key role in ensuring Lionel Messi completed his ultimate fairytale.

The 30-year-old has been the talk of the town in the aftermath as he was awarded the Golden Glove for his performances in Qatar before he proceeded to place the trophy on his crotch in a lewd celebratory gesture. Because why not?

Advertisement

He’s quite the character. I suppose you have to be with that haircut. Nevertheless, it turns out that the World Cup final was just one of several absolutely bonkers games of football that Martinez has been involved in throughout his career.

Here’s a reminder of the others.

Advertisement
Damian Martinez

Conceding five in victory? Vibes. / Scott Heavey/GettyImages

Martinez initially joined the Gunners on a youth deal in 2010 before he signed his first professional contract in 2012.

His debut arrived in a 6-1 victory over Coventry in the Capital One Cup and he continued in Arsene Wenger’s cup XI for Arsenal’s fourth-round tie away at Reading.

Advertisement

The Gunners were 4-0 down after 37 minutes and a babyfaced Martinez had thrown a couple into his own net. Not ideal. Nevertheless, Arsenal staged a dramatic comeback in the second period, with their equaliser arriving in the sixth minute of stoppage time.

Marouane Chamakh then handed the visitors their first lead of the contest in extra time before Martinez conceded his fifth as Pavel Pogrebnyak headed home. Goals from Theo Walcott and Chamakh at the death finished off the most ludicrous of cup ties as Arsenal advanced, but Martinez wouldn’t feature again for the Gunners until 2014.

Advertisement
FBL-ENG-PR-STOKE-ARSENAL

Martinez conceded three first half goals against Stoke back in 2014 / BEN STANSALL/GettyImages

With Wojciech Szczesny injured and David Ospina absent, Martinez enjoyed his first run in the Arsenal side in the winter of 2014. The Argentine kept clean sheets in 1-0 wins over West Brom and Southampton, but his third and final start during this stretch wasn’t quite as fruitful.

Martinez conceded 19 seconds into the Gunners’ trip to the Britannia as Peter Crouch breached his defences. Bojan Krkic and Jon Walters also got on the scoresheet for the hosts as Arsenal trailed 3-0 at half-time.

Advertisement

The Gunners attempted to stage a second-half resurgence as Santi Cazorla and Aaron Ramsey reduced the deficit to one, but Callum Chambers’ second yellow card with 15 minutes remaining halted their charge.

Szczesny was back in the starting XI the following week.

Advertisement

After starting four Premier League games during the first half of the 2014/15 season, Martinez joined Championship side Rotherham on an emergency loan in March for the remainder of the campaign.

Barely 24 hours after joining the club, Martinez seemed destined to help the Millers to victory over Sheffield Wednesday on his debut.

Advertisement

Jordan Bowery gave the hosts their second lead of the game with just three minutes remaining almost immediately after Caolan Lavery had equalised for the Owls. Rotherham were seemingly home and dry, but they inexplicably conceded twice in stoppage time to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.

Kieran Lee squeezed his winning effort under Martinez in the eighth additional minute.

Advertisement
FBL-ENG-LCUP-LIVERPOOL-ARSENAL

A young Arsenal outfit was beaten in a cup thriller at Anfield / PAUL ELLIS/GettyImages

Martinez returned to Arsenal following several random loan spells in 2019 where he served as Bernd Leno’s second in command for the 2019/20 campaign.

As a result, the Argentine earned regular minutes in cup competitions and he was between the sticks for Arsenal’s ten-goal Carabao Cup thriller at Anfield.

Advertisement

Unai Emery was still at the helm as a young Gunners outfit impressed against a rotated Liverpool XI as the two sides each scored five times to take the cup tie to penalties.

There were no shootout heroics from Martinez on this occasion as Liverpool scored all five of their penalties, while Dani Ceballos missed for the Gunners.

Advertisement
Neal Maupay, Emiliano Martinez

Neal Maupay scored a last-gasp winner as Martinez replaced the injured Bernd Leno / Mike Hewitt/GettyImages

The game that changed Martinez’s life.

Despite conceding a last-minute winner to Brighton striker Neal Maupay, the injury sustained by Leno in this contest meant Martinez became Arsenal’s starting goalkeeper for the remainder of the season.

Advertisement

He immediately impressed between the sticks as he kept three Premier League clean sheets on the bounce. Martinez also helped the Gunners to FA Cup glory in an empty Wembley as Chelsea were beaten 2-1 in the final.

The Argentine’s performances at the end of the pandemic-hit 2019/20 season saw him earn a move to Aston Villa in the summer and he would make his international debut in October 2021 after his impressive form continued in the Midlands.

Advertisement





Source link

Advertisement
Continue Reading
Advertisement
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

EPL

Harry Maguire suggests he isn’t ‘properly appreciated’ at Man Utd

Published

on

SportVectru Ad

Manchester United captain Harry Maguire has suggested that he is not as appreciated at club level as he is for England.

Maguire made the switch to the Red Devils for £80m back in 2019 and has since divided opinion after being named the skipper less than a year later. This season, he was quickly dropped by incoming United manager Erik ten Hag in favour of Raphael Varane and summer signing Lisandro Martinez.

Advertisement

At international level however, the centre-back has been one of England’s most dependable performers under Gareth Southgate, playing a major role in the Three Lions’ deep tournament runs over the last five years.

Maguire started for England in Thursday’s 2-1 win at Italy in Euro 2024 qualifying. He didn’t cover himself in glory for the Azzurri’s goal but stood tall late on to help grind out the victory.

Advertisement

Speaking to the media post-match, Maguire was asked if he feels ‘properly appreciated’.

“For England, yes, I do,” he replied. “Obviously, last season was difficult for the club, but, listen, I’ve proven myself to Gareth, who works with a wide range of centre backs. He has the choice of all the English centre-backs in the country and I play, every time I’m available, I’ve been in the team.

Advertisement

“I’m sure if you ask the rest of the lads they know what I bring to the team. I’m 30 years old but I shouldn’t really need to prove myself at this level. I’ve over 50 caps. I’m England’s top-scoring defender.

“I’ve played nearly 200 times for Manchester United, I’ve captained the club for three years now, but I do also understand that when you’re the captain of Manchester United you do come under the most amount of scrutiny. Last season at club level, my performance wasn’t good enough, alongside everybody else at club level, not just myself struggled. Everyone else struggled.”

Advertisement

Maguire recognises that he has not always been at his best while wearing a United shirt.

He was an easy scapegoat during their dreadful 2021/22 season in which they recorded their lowest ever points tally in the Premier League era.

Advertisement

That said, Maguire has also failed to kick on and if anything has taken several steps backwards after what was a promising first half to 2021, emerging as one of the league’s leading centre-backs and playing out of his skin while unfit in England’s run to the Euro 2020 final.

His case hasn’t been helped by his outward need silence critics, notably scoring for England and sticking his fingers in his ears as a celebration amid his decline for United.

Advertisement

Source link

Advertisement
Continue Reading

EPL

Arsenal lead Rice race; Man Utd eye Ferguson

Published

on

By

SportVectru Ad

90min rounds up the latest transfer news, rumours and gossip circulating around the world…

Arsenal remain ahead of Chelsea in the race to sign Declan Rice from West Ham this summer. The midfielder’s preference is to stay in London amid previous links to Manchester City and Manchester United. (Football Insider)

Advertisement

New Bayern Munich boss Thomas Tuchel will look to reunite with Chelsea duo Mateo Kovacic and Edouard Mendy when the summer window rolls around. (Calciomercato)

Manchester United are ready to send Amad Diallo back to Sassuolo as part of a bid to sign Italy midfielder Davide Frattesi. (CMW)

Advertisement

Another player on Manchester United‘s radar is Brighton striker Evan Ferguson. The 18-year-old scored on his debut for the Republic of Ireland earlier this week. (Football Insider)

Liverpool will look to strengthen their defensive ranks with the signing of Dutch defender Perr Schuurs, with current club Torino ready to sell for a fee of €50m. (Tuttosport)

Advertisement

Ilkay Gundogan is likely to leave Manchester City for Barcelona on a free transfer this summer. His contract expires at the end of the season. (The Athletic)

Real Madrid have joined Barcelona and Liverpool in the race to sign Florian Wirtz from Bayer Leverkusen. (Fabrizio Romano)

Advertisement

Meanwhile, Celta Vigo midfielder Gabri Veiga would prefer to join Real Madrid over the likes of Barcelona and Manchester United this summer. (Cadena SER)

After failing with a bid last summer, Chelsea are working on another offer to sign Romeo Lavia from Southampton. (Football Insider)

Advertisement

Arsenal and Newcastle are monitoring Atalanta striker Rasmus Hojland, who grabbed a hat-trick on his international debut for Denmark this week. (Tutto Atalanta)

Source link

Advertisement
Continue Reading

EPL

Arsenal pre-season 2023/24: Fixtures and schedule

Published

on

SportVectru Ad


Having reached new heights in the Premier League in 2022/23, Arsenal will soon be beginning their preparations for the new campaign with a pre-season tour to get ready for 2023/24.

Advertisement

Preparations for last season took place in Germany for Arsenal but with the Covid-19 pandemic a bit more of a distant memory for many, it is expected that more teams will be heading further afield again to either the United States of America or Asia.

Arsenal are yet to announce a full training camp location for their pre-season but they do have one fixture already confirmed which drops a big clue.

Advertisement

The Gunners are going to be coming up against an MLS All-Star team in Washington D.C. which will be coached by Manchester United and England legend Wayne Rooney. That takes place on July 19 and it is hard to imagine that Arsenal will only play one game in America.

A semi-regular fixture of Arsenal’s pre-seasons in recent years has been the Emirates Cup, but there has not been any word on whether an edition of that will be taking place or not this summer. If there is, then Arsenal could be splitting their time between America and London.

Advertisement

All times BST.

As is the case for almost every big club in football now, all of Arsenal’s pre-season friendlies are expected to be televised live on Arsenal.com and their official app with a subscription.

Advertisement



Source link

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Trending

Home
Live Scores
Use App
Live TV
Predictions