Emiliano Martinez says he’s pleased that his solid performance against Borussia Dortmund helped Arsenal keep a clean sheet and revealed the support of his teammates ensured he started the game confidently.
In the absence of injured duo Wojciech Szczesny and David Ospina, the Argentine keeper was handed his fourth start in Gunners colours and went on to produce important saves in each half, including a great stop in the 40th minute from Henrikh Mkhitaryan.
Speaking after the game to Arsenal Player the 22-year-old said he enjoyed his latest first team outing:
“It was fantastic. I have been working with the team for many years and they have confidence in me, they told me I would be alright and I went into the game completely relaxed. It was amazing.
“I was really pleased, especially with the save in the first half when we were 1-0 up. The last one kept my team nice and calm in the game as well, so I was really pleased with my performance.
“I have been lucky [to get my chance] because Ospina and Wojciech have been injured but that is how football is: you have to get your opportunity and take it and I think I did that here.”
Fellow young Gunner, Yaya Sanogo, also thrived on a damp night at the Emirates pouncing on a delicate second minute pass by Santi Cazorla to net his first competitive goal for the Gunners.
Pleased that the French under-21 international had finally got off the mark, compatriot Mathieu Flamini made clear he expects more to come from Sanogo.
“For a striker it is always very important to score. He had a great game and even if he hasn’t had the chance to play every match, every time he has been on the pitch he has given 100 per cent.
“I’m very happy for him because he has been working very hard since the beginning of the season and it is great for him.”
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, who came very close to scoring in the second half with a deft lob that came off the Dortmund bar, also touched on how Sanogo’s goal will boost the Gallic striker’s confidence.
“It’s important he got that goal, it’s been a long time coming. In pre-season he showed us what he could do, and he took [the chance] tonight. It was a good start for him, a goal always helps your confidence and I thought he played really well.
“He held the ball up well and hopefully he can score a few more like that.”
Unfortunately for Sanogo his evening ended on a sour note with a hamstring problem. We’ll have to wait and see whether that opens up an opportunity for Lukas Podolski to face West Bromwich Albion on Saturday or if the boss has Olivier Giroud and Danny Welbeck as options from the off.
SaYesGoal..?
He went from SaNOGOAL to SanoGOAL
listening to 5 live callers last night on the way home after the game, the show’s producers obviously had a harder time coming up with angry gooners than they’d been anticipating. anyhow, they did manage to find some bloke, usual “not good enough, we need change, no bottle” (soon changed to “tactical ineptitude” after prompting from the eager presenter). Then this poor fella was asked who he’d like to see take over from AW. Pause “Alan Pardew”, he said. Seriously. Even the presenters were fucking falling about laughing. I mean… but no, he persisted. Pardew is a: a better manager… Read more »
c: he certainly knows how to buy french players
d: prone to touch line violence
So, now that we’ve actually won a game, you’ve reappeared, Sam. It must have been embarrassing being a Wenger supporter during our recent performances. I suppose a win now makes everything ok. The best thing about last night’s game was that we were disciplined. We got ahead early and then didn’t do anything stupid. And I was happy for Sir No Goals, but having finally found the net he then went on to miss an easy chance to get a second. He’s not an Arsenal striker, and I would be offended if I was Lucas Podolski right now. so yet… Read more »
Were you really happy for Sanogo’s goal ? You would have prefered he didn’t score to support your point, I guess. Everybody knows an experienced striker would have done better at 9th minute. Me too, I think Sanogo is not ready to be our regular striker yet and fact is he is not. He is a sub. Fatgooner, haven’t you ever been a debutant on your job ? Sanogo was a very good debutant yesterday and deserves praises.
Do you actually know what the word “Debutant” means? I’m pretty sure this wasn’t Yaya’s first game for us. He should be out on loan somewhere he can gain experience – not learning his trade at one of the biggest clubs in the world.
A “Wenger supporter”….what the hell is that? Don’t you mean Arsenal supporter? If you can’t support the manager of the team, a manager that has built stadium, playing squad, pretty much built the club, then you can hardly claim to be a supporter of the team.
“If you can’t support the manager of the team, a manager that has built stadium…”
Blah, blah bullshit. Are you Bob Wilson? I don’t what Wenger did a thousand years ago, I care abou what he’s doing now – and that’s taking us nowhere.
It’s this knee-jerk, ‘you’re only as good as your last game’ bullshit that the media hand feed you and you come on the internet and spew it all over social media and in the face of anyone that will hear.
There are 2 teams on the pitch each game, which means losing is part of football. If you want immediate success then go ‘support’ whichever team happens to be top of the table.
Dunno, Fatgooner is one of the least knee-jerky people around. He’s always downbeat about our chances, and Wengers flaws, regardless of result.
Fwiw, I’m still a little tentative as to whether we’ve solved our glass chin, and if we haven’t then it wouldn’t be a bad idea to get a manager in who CAN do it. I am, however, a football fan so at the moment I presume we’ll just win the rest of our games and ease into a treble, so it’s a moot point…
Fats, you mean as opposed to how you disappear down your shit-hole when things pick up?
Alan Pardew!?
I ll hand over everything I ve wit associated with Arsenal and go to the moon. where am certain Ill be unreacheble. untraceble. untrackable. Ill carry with me a self denotable bomb just in case
Happy for Sanogo. Even if he doesn’t in most of the games in the futur I think he’s always a good option from the bench when we have to push.
Martinez had a really good game. A few saves and he seemed confident with his handling.
well, 3 good GKs in the team!!! Happy for him.
Unfortunate injuries to the first two goalkeeping choices were how Szczesny first staked his claim to the spot, as I recall. I also recall the collective noise that was commentators all over England simultaneously soiling themselves as they realised they’d actually have to pronounce his name live on air. At least Martinez doesn’t cause that problem!
Well seeing as they’ve mangled Roberto Martinez’s name for the last six years, I’m not that sure they’ll do much better!
Weldone lad, enjoy the moment.
Plenty to play for. Granted the league title looks to have sailed off, domestic cup (FA) doesn’t seem impossible. frankly with regard CL, odds are against us but we are still in it and there is no reason to be so negative. Even if we finish 2nd in group, we will eventually have to face the big teams anyway. So we get dumped out in round of 16 instead of quarters, well the benefit being we can focus on domestic competitions then. If not we carry on in the CL, anything can happen if this team starts to gel. And… Read more »
Most arsenal fans don’t understand how good they’ve got it. If you listen to them you’ll think we’re battling for relegation. This is a team that’s in the Champions league every single year. I can promise you that there are fans of 95% of the teams who wish they can just go to the champion league once.
We can go on an on about “if not for so and so, we’ll be ….”
If it’s not for Messi, Barca would not have won their titles. If it’s not for Ronaldo Madrid will not have won the UCL. If it’s not for Abromavich, Chelsea will be shit. If it’s not for sheik, City will be battling to stay in the premership. We can go on and on about the if nots
Good showing from a young keeper.
Clean sheet.
All those having a go at Sanogo before the game should do well to remember he is only 21!
I’ve said it before, he is being groomed as Giroud’s possible eventual successor. In that he has competition from the even younger Akpom.
Very pleased with the win and performance last night but let’s not get too carried away. That was our first really good performance all season. One swallow does not a summer make and all that.
Half a dozen wins like that then maybe we can say we have turned a corner.
Certainly understand the sentiment to be cautious given the number of false dawns we have had (again)
But lots of positives from the win.
Again I think its application. Its the individual errors and decision making at the back that have cost us rather than any deficiencies in formation or personnel at the moment (barring the Cback but Koscielny is now in contention)
One step at a time is a good prescribe.
The league looks a long shot right now but plenty to play for with FA and Cl is never a forgone conclusion. Lesser teams have gone the distance.
You won’t hear Stewart Robson or Craig Burley on the facile ESPN punditry box wax lyrical about us dismantling a good Dortmund side. On the one hand its Klopp is brilliant and should replace Arsene never mind the low position in the Bundesliga and the fact we have clawed back to within two points in CL with (considering their current form) them finishing off Anderlecht at home not guaranteed. On the other hand is Arsenal are lucky because Dortmund are poor in league form and have little to play for in the CL group cos Klopp has declared a national… Read more »
Nice one Yaya, pleased for the fella.
Martinez too, good game. Hope he goes on to leapfrog Shezernay.
Good on ya, YaY, and I second the Martinez vote. But I’m not sure whether your user name is (naively) unfortunate, ‘richardanus’, or deliberate?
Naively unfortunate ? Good grief!
No, it’s well chosen. But I’m sure you worked that out for yourself.
I wish he had stuck to Damien. Pretty fucking cool to have the son of Satan as your third choice GK.