Arsenal could be set to keep goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez on their books ahead of next season after he impressed manager Mikel Arteta, according to The Mirror.
“That’s what he’s been trying to do for a long period now at the club. As I said before, his preparation, his attitude has been spot on,” said Arteta.
“He’s been very respectful, very patient and now that he has the opportunity, he’s grabbing it.
“At this level, it’s not about two, three, eight or 10 games, it’s about the consistency over a lot of games and that’s what he needs to prove now.”
The Argentine has been deputising in goal for Bernd Leno recently after the German suffered an injury.
Martinez’s game time has coincided with the Gunners recent resurgence. Prior to getting a run with the first-team, the 27-year-old was believed to be weighing up his future in order to find regular first-team football elsewhere.
Martinez is now at a stage of his career where he should be playing regularly instead of being an understudy to another keeper.
He will also be campaigning to win selection to the Argentina team on a regular basis given that the two-time World Cup champions have struggled to have a solid first-choice goalkeeper for a long-time.
In lieu of Martinez’s situation, the Gunners were believed to be in the market for a new keeper to provide
Leno with good competition ahead of next season. Prior to this season, Martinez had been restricted to appearing in Cup games mostly.
The Gunners season has not been ideal and they will need to make some new signings this summer if they want to be competitive against the likes of Liverpool, Manchester United and Chelsea next season.
They need to look at signing new attacking and defensive players as a priority. It will be a relief if Martinez stays on as the current goalkeeping options are good enough to serve the club well.
