Back up goalkeepers are a strange one to assess, because they only get on the pitch if something goes wrong, but you also need to know that they are competent too.
It’s possible that someone can become a back up for so long that they end up reaching their 30’s without any real first team experience, and then their career has passed them by.
That appeared to be the case with Emiliano Martinez at Arsenal, as he’d managed a grand total of six league appearances in nine seasons.
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He’s had the occasional loan spell here and there, but he got a chance when Bernd Leno went down with a nasty looking injury.
The Argentine stopper has been impressive when given the chance, and a report from The Mirror suggests that he might have saved his Arsenal career.
They suggest that Mikel Arteta had plans to shake up the goalkeeping section this summer and Martinez would probably have left, but he’s been so impressed that he’s now decided against that.
It could even result in an interesting role reversal where the player decides he wants first team football and pushes for an exit if he can’t dislodge Leno permanently, but at least Arsenal know they have two high quality keepers at the club now.