Ian Wright says Arsenal fans absolutely 'hate' £17m player Mikel Arteta sold
Ian Wright understands the sentiments of Arsenal fans better than most others.
The legendary Englishman spent seven years as a Gunner and scored 185 goals during his time at the club – more than any other player other than Thierry Henry.
Wright is a prominent figure in the media now, and everything he says about Arsenal holds a lot of weight.
Now, he has made an interesting claim about a Chelsea player who used to play for the current Premier League champions.
Ian Wright says Arsenal fans hate Chelsea’s Emiliano Martinez
Emiliano Martinez spent a little over a decade at Arsenal.
The goalkeeper joined the Gunners as a teenager back in 2010 and dreamt of making it into the first team from the first day.
Martinez achieved that dream, but he only made 38 senior appearances for the club before Mikel Arteta sold him to Aston Villa in 2020 for £17 million.
Arsenal fans were upset at the time, but some of his comments and actions in recent years have made him a bit of a villain.
Martinez has now joined Chelsea, and he is expected to start in goal when the Blues come to the Emirates Stadium on Sunday.
Ian Wright thinks that will make for a feisty atmosphere.
On the Stick to Football podcast, Gary Neville first said: “I think Arsenal are going to be so strong and up for it, it’s going to be unbelievable. They are going to be really aggressive.”
Wright replied: “Plus, Martinez is in goal now. Arsenal fans hate him. That will liven it up.”
Emi Martinez has a good recent record against Arsenal
Irrespective of how fans feel about him, Arsenal should be wary of Martinez.
The Argentine can be a dislikable figure because of some of his antics at times, but he is still an excellent goalkeeper and a huge upgrade for Chelsea.
To add to that, in his last six appearances against Arsenal, Martinez has been on the losing side on just two occasions, which has been very annoying.
We’re sure the goalkeeper would love nothing more than to get one over his former club on Sunday, but Arsenal should use that as added motivation to score past him.
