Mikel Arteta shares his true feelings on Emi Martinez before Arsenal vs Chelsea
Arsenal didn’t have to face Emiliano Martinez against Aston Villa, but they will do so when they face Chelsea.
The World Cup winner was once a Gunner and played a big part in helping Mikel Arteta win his first FA Cup and Community Shield back in 2020.
Since then, Martinez has caused some pain to Arsenal in Aston Villa’s colours, and we’re sure he would love to do that again on Sunday.
Arteta has now had his say on him.
Mikel Arteta says he’s not surprised Chelsea signed former Arsenal star Emiliano Martinez
Emiliano Martinez has a strange relationship with Arsenal fans.
Gooners absolutely loved him when he was at the club, and there was even a lot of backlash when Arteta favoured Bernd Leno over him.
Since then, however, the Argentine has made some comments and behaved in a way that has annoyed the supporters.
Ian Wright even claimed Arsenal fans hate Martinez recently.
However, Arteta still seems to rate the goalkeeper very highly and claimed that he wasn’t at all surprised that Chelsea signed him this summer.
He said in his press conference, as per Arsenal.com: “No (I wasn’t surprised that Chelsea signed him).
“Obviously, I know Emi really well. So we had him here as a top goalkeeper. It’s clear what he’s going to bring to the team, and I think it’s a really smart decision.”
READ MORE: Ian Wright reveals his Arsenal vs Chelsea score prediction
What happened the last time Emi Martinez played at Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium
Martinez helped Aston Villa snatch points off Arsenal on a few occasions over the years, but he has ended up on the losing side as well.
The most recent defeat came at the Emirates Stadium in December last year, when the Gunners smashed four past him.
As Martinez made his way down the tunnel after the game, Arsenal fans mocked him, and that seemed to anger him.
The goalkeeper was seen confronting a few fans, who accused him of being rattled after losing 4-1.
We’re sure Martinez will have that in his mind when he returns to the Emirates on Sunday, this time with the Gunners’ London rivals Chelsea.
