When Emiliano Martinez walks out at Wembley Stadium on Saturday to play in the FA Cup final, he will write the next chapter of a remarkable story that began in the humblest of surroundings.
Born in the Argentinian city of Mar Del Plata, Martinez grew up in a family who struggled financially, so much so that he can recall one occasion where he and his brother, Alejandro, ate - but his parents, Susana and Alberto, did not.
There were times too when the Arsenal goalkeeper saw his father crying as he could not pay the family’s bills, while visits to see a young Martinez - who was playing for Independiente at time - had to be restricted to twice a month as petrol was too expensive.
And it is why, when Martinez steps foot onto the Wembley turf on Saturday as Arsenal face Chelsea in the FA Cup final, his family will not be far from his mind - even if the Covid-19 pandemic means they cannot be there to see him in person.
“I don’t think about myself, I am always thinking about them,” he says. “That is how I have managed to stay in Europe so long.
“I remember the day that me and my brother ate and not my mum and dad. So I know exactly what they’ve been through.
“I was living in Buenos Aires and I would only see them twice a month, when I travelled, because they couldn’t afford the petrol to go and see me. So I know what they did for me to reach the top, where I am now.”
Martinez may have made it to the point where he is starting an FA Cup final for Arsenal, but his journey there has not been easy.
It was 10 years ago that it begun, when the Gunners came calling and offered him the chance to have a trial with them.
“I was scared,” recalls Martinez. “I had not even turned 17 when I got on that plane.
“In my mind, there was no way I was going to leave my family. I arrived back in Argentina and a week after I had the offer from Arsenal.
“They called my agent and my family and I thought it was all about signing a new contract for my club in Argentina, because they wanted to offer me one at the time. But it was actually to sign for Arsenal.
“I saw my brother and mum cry, saying: ‘Please don't go’. But I had also seen my dad crying late at night because he could not pay the bills. So I had to be brave at the time, because I said ‘yes’ for them.”
Those first few years were tricky for Martinez as he was thrust into a new country and culture.
He was travelling back and forth from Argentina to England every three months, which made the learning of a new language even more difficult.
Martinez was resolute, though, and determined to make it in Europe. Aged 18 he bought his first flat, moving into one in Enfield, and told his family he wasn’t returning to Argentina.
“I don’t want to come back to my country with nothing. I want to make a career here,” Martinez recalls telling his mother.
“I did not want to be one of those frustrated players who go to Europe and come back with nothing.”
Martinez’s route to the Arsenal first team still had a long way to go, though, and before he got where he is today he bounced around on loan several times - with the first of those coming at Oxford United back in 2012.
“I had a really good period in what they used to call the Reserves but is now the Under-21s,” remembers Martinez.
“Then [former Arsenal goalkeeping coach] Gerry Payton called me on a Friday and said: ‘Emi, Oxford United have called me and they have got a chance for you to be in the play-offs’.
“I said: ‘Who?’ It was my first year. I was 18.”
Five more loan spells followed after that but, following his latest one at Reading, Martinez vowed he was not going to be sent out again.
The 27-year-old instead returned to Arsenal in the summer of 2019 ready to fight for his place in the first team.
Martinez had offers to leave, but making it at Arsenal has always been his aim and the injury to Bernd Leno last month has suddenly given him the chance to stake his claim.
The Argentina international has taken his chance and admits he was always ready for the opportunity.
“My wife was saying to me in lockdown: ‘Why do you train so much?’ Because I thought I might have my chance, I might do it. And look, I have it,” says Martinez, who has started Arsenal’s last 10 games.
“I have got a full-size goal in my garden. As soon as it (lockdown) happened, the fitness coaches sent us a programme.
“We had a bike from a club to do training, obviously we could not go out anywhere. I had plenty of space. I had weights, a mini-gym outside. I was doing proper goalkeeper training.
“I have something called a ball launcher, someone has to feed the balls. My wife used to throw the balls but she was terrible at it and I was playing with my boy, Santi. He was trying to put the ball inside the ball launcher as well.”
Martinez’s fine form for Arsenal has led to a genuine debate starting as to whether he could now replace Leno as the club’s No1.
The German had impressed this season until his injury, but such has been the level of Martinez’s performances it is not unreasonable to think he would start next season.
It leaves Arsenal in a tricky situation, with two goalkeepers expecting to be No1, but Martinez says any talk about his future is for after Saturday’s final.
“I don’t think anyone wants to be a second goalkeeper. Especially if you believe so much in yourself,” he says.
“My agent called me the other day and said: ‘How do you feel, what do you think about next season?’
“I said I don’t want to talk about next season. I have a contract with Arsenal. I need to play in the final and have my mind clear.
“Whatever happens in the final and next season, it happens. It’s football. I can go anywhere but I have a two-year contract left in my Arsenal career. Let me win that trophy and ask the question again.”
And, given where he has come from, you wouldn’t put it past Martinez lifting the FA Cup high above his head on Saturday.
It certainly would add a glorious chapter to a story that started in the toughest of surroundings all those years ago in Argentina.
“Hard work pays off and now is the time. Now is my time,” says Martinez. “I have been fighting 10 years to win trophies, not just to reach a final.”
