Aston Villa's Emi Buendia has been speaking about how his compatriot Emi Martinez has refocused after a difficult summer
Emi Martinez and Emi Buendia
Emi Martinez and Emi Buendia(Image: Getty Images)
View Image
Emi Buendía admits that the summer transfer window may have unsettled Emi Martínez, but says the goalkeeper is now fully refocused at Aston Villa.
The 33-year-old made a crucial penalty save in Villa’s 4-0 win over Bournemouth while the score was still 2-0, before Ross Barkley and Donyell Malen put the game beyond reach on Sunday.
Buendía’s free-kick opened the scoring, with Amadou Onana doubling the lead later in the first half. However, it was Bournemouth who created the first big chance of the game, as Martínez denied Evanilson from inside the box.
At the start of the second half, Bournemouth piled on the pressure, but Martínez produced a stunning save to claw Alex Scott’s deflected effort from underneath the bar and turn it out for a corner.
Soon after, following a Morgan Rogers handball, Martínez won a face-off with Antoine Semenyo from 12 yards, saving the winger’s penalty in front of the Holte End in the 67th minute.
“When you have the best goalkeeper in the world in that kind of moment, with the penalty the game could change, but he did his work and helped the team push for the last minutes,” Buendia said.
“After the break and the transfer window, he has shown everyone he is really focused in the club. I think he showed from the first five years he has been here, he always tries his best. He is training like the best, pushing himself to the best places.
“Like anyone, he can make a mistake. It happened in Liverpool, but he steps up and works on it. It is really important to have someone with that kind of mentality in the team because he pushes all the squad to be better.”
Martinez was close to leaving Villa in the summer, and was open to a move away from the club, with Manchester United weighing up the possibility of signing him.
Instead, United pushed ahead with a move for Senne Lammens from Royal Antwerp, leaving Martínez at Villa on deadline day.
The Argentine had been left out of the squad to face Crystal Palace the day before the window closed due to uncertainty over his future, and was subsequently stripped of his vice-captaincy. However, compatriot Buendía believes Martínez is now fully refocused.
“Yes, of course,” Buendia said when asked if Martinez is now more settled. “Sometimes these kinds of things, emotionally, can have an impact.
“But he tries the best, he works the best, and he showed his quality in the game. Not just the penalty, but the save from the deflection - that was unbelievable.
“When I saw the replay after, it was incredible - the strength and the reflexes to jump and avoid the goal. It is really important. We feel like we have a strong man in the goal.
“When Marco has played, he has been fantastic, and it shows the level of this squad. It is the mentality we want for everyone.”
Every day, the BirminghamLive football desk strive to deliver all manner of news, features and transfer-related stories as a part of our overall package of Aston Villa content.
Our dedicated reporter John Townley - who you can follow on X by clicking here - follows Villa home and away and offers you comprehensive coverage from matchdays, press conferences and everything that happens in between.
So much happens day to day and sometimes you can struggle to keep on top of the very latest updates as and when they occur - that's why we have produced a daily newsletter which you can sign up to, for free, and which means you'll have a round-up of the key stories land in your email inbox. Sign up to the Villa newsletter here.
You can also get all your favourite content from BirminghamLive's Villa team on WhatsApp. Click here to sign up for breaking updates about the biggest stories in and around the club.
If you prefer reading our Villa stories on your phone, consider downloading the BirminghamLive app, in which you can personalise the content you see by selecting Villa as one of your designated topics. You can get it from Apple here and for Android here.
Our weekly Aston Villa podcast, Claret And Blue, is also available to watch and listen on all major streaming services. You can subscribe to the YouTube channel here, while you can access the podcast on Spotify here and via Apple here.
Content Image
Content Image