Unai Emery could have some stern words for former Arsenal goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez after he was confirmed as Aston Villa’s new manager.
The Spaniard was announced as Steven Gerrard ’s replacement on Monday evening with the Premier League side completing a deal with Spanish outfit Villarreal. The move sees Emery make his first return to English shores since an ill-fated spell in charge of Arsenal - albeit the 50-year-old having managed to rebuild his reputation back in his homeland having added yet another Europa League title to his impressive collection.
Emery will officially take the reins from current caretaker Aaron Danks on the November 1 as the formalities of his work permit are ironed out, which means that he won’t be in the dugout for this weekend’s trip to St James’ Park to take on Newcastle United.
Once he arrives at Villa Park, there could well be a slightly awkward reunion with ex-Arsenal stopper Martinez.
The Argentine goalkeeper played under Emery at the pair’s respective spells in North London but made just eight appearances under the Spanish coach before he was sacked in favour of Mikel Arteta.
Before the Gunners’ hierarchy made the decision to jettison the ex-Sevilla man, Martinez appeared to make his feelings known on the position of the Spaniard in November 2019.
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A post circulated on Instagram of a picture of Emery with the caption ‘Like for Emery Out!’. Surprisingly, Martinez was among the players to have liked the post whilst he was on international duty but quickly realised his mistake by unliking.
As it happened, Emery was only Arsenal boss for a further two weeks with a 2-1 defeat to Eintracht Frankfurt in the Europa League proving to be the final match of his reign at the Emirates Stadium.
Whether Martinez’s like was a display of his true feelings for the Spanish head coach remains to be seen but the Argentine currently has no choice but to play under him.
The 30-year-old is currently Villa’s number one - a position he has held since his 2020 arrival in the Midlands. He has made 12 appearances in the Premier League thus far this term, keeping just three clean sheets amid Villa’s struggles over the opening months of the campaign.
His most recent shutout came in his latest outing with the side having run riot against Brentford last time out.
Their next game is of course their trip to face Newcastle, with Emery’s first official game at the helm coming against Manchester United in just under a fortnight’s time. The Spaniard will have to wait until February next year for a reunion with former club Arsenal, the Gunners already having got the better of Villa this season with a 2-1 victory at the Emirates Stadium back in August.
