August 24th 2024.
Emiliano Martinez has recently left Arsenal in 2020 in search of regular playing time and has found success at Aston Villa. In light of this, the goalkeeper has offered some advice to his former teammate, Aaron Ramsdale, who is currently struggling to break into the starting lineup at Arsenal.
Ramsdale, who joined Arsenal in 2021 for a record-breaking fee of £30 million, has not started a Premier League match since March and is playing second fiddle to Mikel Arteta's preferred signing, David Raya. The 26-year-old initially impressed at the Emirates Stadium, playing in every league match as the Gunners challenged for the Premier League title in the 2022-2023 season. However, his game-time has drastically reduced since Raya's arrival from Brentford and he could potentially leave the club before the summer transfer window closes next week.
There has been reported interest from Premier League clubs Wolves and Southampton in signing Ramsdale, and former Arsenal goalkeeper Martinez believes it would be best for him to move on. Martinez himself left Arsenal in 2020 in pursuit of regular football and has found a home at Aston Villa, even helping them qualify for the Champions League last season.
The 28-year-old expressed, "It's a different position to me as Aaron signed for big money. He was the No. 1 for Arsenal. I never had a chance like that. When you play every game in the Premier League and then you drop to the bench with the quality that Aaron has, I think he should find a place to play where he feels loved. He is a player that England needs in their goalkeeping area and I believe he has a great future ahead of him."
Martinez also mentioned that he had heard rumours of Ramsdale potentially joining Wolves, which he thinks would be a good move for him. Former Arsenal midfielder Emmanuel Petit has also advised Ramsdale to secure a late summer move, stating that he must be "very unhappy" with his current situation.
Villa, managed by ex-Arsenal boss Unai Emery, will face Arsenal on Saturday evening. The Midlands club did the double over Arsenal last season, with the second defeat during the run-in dealing a huge blow to the Gunners' title hopes. Despite Villa's success under Emery and finishing fourth last season, Martinez dismisses the idea that they could challenge the likes of Arsenal and Manchester City for the Premier League title this season.
"Nah," the Argentine World Cup winner said. "You can see that we sold two or three good players that we had, which Unai didn't want to do. I know with PSR [profitability and sustainability rules], they can't really sign as much as the owner wants. It's going to be a little bit harder than everyone thinks, so it is a work in progress. We want to go on a cup run, maybe even win the Carabao Cup or the FA Cup. But there is no way we can challenge for the title."
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