Photo by Catherine Ivill - AMA/Getty Images
Photo by Catherine Ivill - AMA/Getty Images
Chelsea goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez was unable to get one over his former side Arsenal at the weekend.
Chelsea lost 2-1 to their London rivals, with many feeling that he should have done much better for Kai Havertz’s equaliser.
Martinez will definitely be disappointed with getting beaten at his near post like that. But he did stop most of Arsenal’s shots on the afternoon.
Chelsea player ratings vs Arsenal
Photo by Catherine Ivill – AMA/Getty Images
Emiliano Martinez’s stats were solid despite Chelsea losing to Arsenal
According to Sofascore, Martinez made eight saves in total and seven were against shots from inside his box.
Martinez also completed eight long balls as the 34-year-old tried to get the ball to Chelsea’s attackers as early as possible.
Ultimately, Martinez’s shot-stopping was good on the day, although he should have prevented Havertz from scoring. For Martin Odegaard’s goal, he could not have done much more.
It was that unconvincing bit of goalkeeping that spectators remembered, though. On TalkingPoints, some were quick to criticise the Argentine following Chelsea’s latest loss at the Emirates.
The truth is Martinez was brought in to save shots like Havertz’s one. That was the kind of effort Robert Sanchez was struggling to deal with.
The Argentina international will not look like an upgrade if he keeps conceding goals like that one. It does not matter how many saves he is able to make during the game.
It was quite clear that Chelsea needed a new goalkeeper and Martinez was probably the best option out there. We have already seen the good and the bad, both in the defeat to Arsenal.
Going forward, hopefully it is more of the former! The World Cup winner is a capable goalkeeper, one with the mentality to bounce back.