Emiliano Martínez might need to pinch himself at the Constant Vanden Stock Stadium here in Belgium on Wednesday night and the travelling Arsenal supporters will surely do so. This time last year, the club’s third-choice goalkeeper had just been loaned to Sheffield Wednesday in the Championship but now here he is, primed to make his Champions League debut in the Group D tie against Anderlecht.
It will be Martínez’s third appearance for Arsenal, and it is almost two years since the last one – the chaotic 7-5 League Cup win at Reading, when the 22-year-old was, it must be said, nervous and error-strewn. His debut had come in the previous round of that season’s competition, in the 6-1 home victory over Coventry City.
Martínez’s elevation owes itself to some poor judgment and even poorer luck – the sort that seems to bedevil Arsenal more than most clubs. Wojciech Szczesny’s sending-off against Galatasaray in the previous round of Champions League fixtures, as Arsenal led 4-0, seemed needless in the extreme and the No1 goalkeeper’s suspension has been compounded by the ongoing injury issues of the back-up, David Ospina. Indeed, Szczesny’s sending-off played a major role in Ospina re-aggravating his thigh problem which, Arsène Wenger revealed, will rule him out for between two and three months.
“I had to bring Ospina on against Galatasaray without warm-up, without being prepared, and he had a recurrence of that injury,” the manager said. “That means he is out for two to three months. Now, we have to be really careful because he has a recurrence of a thigh injury that’s very difficult.”
Ospina had damaged the thigh in the warm-up before Colombia’s World Cup quarter-final against Brazil and he battled on through the pain. He was not going to miss that game and when he signed for Arsenal in late July from Nice for £3m, he was still injured. It took him two months to recover and he made his debut for the club against Southampton in the Capital One Cup. Then came Galatasaray. And so the spotlight has picked out Martínez, the former Argentina youth international who officially joined the Arsenal academy from Independiente in the summer of 2010 but who had been training with them for some months previously. He first had a trial with the club in the summer of 2009. The fee for his transfer may eventually rise to a little over £1m.
This seems like a classic Arsenal subplot. Wenger has always believed in Martínez and he has been working for years to turn him from rough diamond into polished gem. The circumstances might have been freakish, if not entirely shocking, but Wenger says he has no hesitation about plunging Martínez in at the deep end. Never mind the scale of the occasion, the goalkeeper will take his place behind a defence that has struggled for consistency, concentration and confidence. As an aside, the 17-year-old academy goalkeeper, Ryan Huddart, will be on the bench.
Martínez has spoken about how the experience at Wednesday, where he played 15 games and kept two clean sheets, has made him a “different keeper”. He feels that his command of the area has improved, thanks to the rough and tumble of the Championship. “It is all about crosses and making the right decisions in that division,” Martínez added. This is the moment that he has dreamed of. He intends to seize it.
“I am extremely confident about him,” Wenger said. “He has the experience of Sheffield Wednesday and I have no special worry about him. He is two years older [from the Reading cup tie], he has good experience and he has grown in stature as well. I believe we have to make sure it is as comfortable a night as possible and we do that by defending well as a team.”
Wenger continues to put a nice spin on what has so far been a disappointing season. Twelve months ago, Arsenal were top of the Premier League after six wins and two draws. Now, they trail Chelsea by 11 points. They have won only four of 13 matches in all competitions. And yet the manager remains convinced that the performances have largely been up to scratch and the results have mysteriously failed to keep pace.
Arsenal need one against Anderlecht, the Belgian champions, who themselves have injury problems, particularly at the back. This dynamic, young team sit undefeated and three points clear at the top of their league despite failing to truly hit their stride. Their confidence took a jolt in the 3-0 home loss to Borussia Dortmund in their last Champions League outing. “A reality check,” Besnik Hasi, the manager, said. There will be attention on the 17-year-old midfielder, Youri Tielemans, who has been extensively scouted by Liverpool.
Wenger has Mikel Arteta back to fitness and a landmark to celebrate. Wednesday is his 65th birthday. “Do I feel young? No, my age is my age,” he said with a smile. “But the desire and motivation is stronger than ever.”