Emery Slams Martinez for Costly Mistake in Aston Villa’s Loss to Arsenal

Emery Slams Martinez for Costly Mistake in Aston Villa’s Loss to Arsenal

Elijah Odetokun
updated at April 12, 2023 at 8:26 PM
In this article:
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  • Arsenal staged a late drama to beat Aston Villa 4-2 in a match that looked destined for a draw
  • Head coach Unai Emery and goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez faced their former clubs
  • Emery slated World Cup winner Martinez for a blunder that led to Arsenal's fourth goal

Arsenal returned to the top of the Premier League table after beating Aston Villa 4-2 and Manchester City were held to a 1-1 draw against newcomers Nottingham Forest at the City Ground.

The Gunners twice came from behind in the game, but scored twice in the closing stages of the game through Jorginho and Gabriel Martinelli to grab a win.

The fourth goal was as a result of a blunder from the former Arsenal goalie who joined his team for a last-minute cotner, which led to a counter-attack which was tapped into an empty net by Gabriel Martinelli.

Emiliano Martinez, Unai Emery, Aston Villa, Arsenal.
Unai Emery slams Emiliano Martinez for blunder against their former clubs Arsenal. Photos by Visionhaus/Neville Williams.
Source: Getty Images

Emery slams Emiliano Martinez

The former Arsenal manager welcomed his former team for the first time since returning to England last year, but two blunders from the World Cup winner gifted a win to the Gunners.

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Speaking to BT Sport after the match in his post-match conference, the Spaniard condemned the action, saying he has never asked his goalkeeper to take such an adventure.

‘‘I am frustrated, but I know our work here is taking time, being demanding, doing mistakes and learning from our mistakes. Something I have never told my goalkeeper [is to] go and score one goal in the 92nd minute,’’ he said.
‘‘I don’t know the data, what it is, but maybe it’s one goal out of 100 [that goalkeepers score from corners] And maybe 20 times they [the opposition] are doing the transition and 10 times they will score a goal. And today, it happened.
‘‘For me, it’s not really being smart.’’ he concluded.

Martinelli celebrates before scoring

Sports Brief earlier reported that Arsenal winger Gabriel Martinelli celebrated before scoring the goal which Emiliano Martinez gifted him.

The Brazilian started off the bench to give new signing Leandro Trossard his first start since his January transfer window move to the Emirates.

He was through on goal and used the opportunity to lift up his hands in celebration before slotting the ball home.

Authors
Elijah Odetokun photo
Elijah Odetokun
Elijah Odetokun is Reuters-trained journalist with three years of experience having previously worked at Daily Times Nigeria, OmaSports and El Futbolero.
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Unai Emery