Arsenal managed to bag a 1-0 win in the dying minutes against Southampton last night, making it three wins on the trot in all competitions since the 2-1 home defeat to Manchester United 12 days ago.
Much credit will be given to the goal scorers for spearheading Arsenal to those wins over Dortmund, West Brom and most recently Southampton, but there is another player in the line-up who should be applauded for his performances – and that’s Damian Martinez.
The 22-year-old Argentine has been picked by Arsene Wenger to guard the goal whilst Wojciech Szczesny is sidelined through injury and he has certainly made the most of it.
Martinez, who has had loan stints at Oxford United and Sheffield Wednesday since he joined the Gunners 2010, has played the last three full games for Arsenal since the loss to United and has kept three clean sheets in the process. Of course the back-line have tightened up and has made his job a whole lot easier, but the young shot-stopper has shown signs that he can be a regular for the side for years to come, in my opinion.
He has confidence, and this is a key attribute to have if you want to succeed in the Premier League and at Arsenal. As well as that, Martinez also commands his box well, has great reflexes and is eager to impress, which he has done.
Don’t get me wrong, Martinez still has some flaws to his game, most noticeably a lack of Premier League experience, but he’s only 22 and will get better if given the chance too. And if the Argentine keeps up his good form and continues to develop in the right way then we could see an interesting battle for the gloves between him and Szczesny in the upcoming seasons – maybe even this one!
