Aston Villa has had some amazing goalkeepers in the Premier League era, the likes of Brad Friedel, David James and Peter Schmeichel being the ones that spring to mind.
Friedel made 131 appearances for Villa, conceding 171 goals, and keeping 36 clean sheets. James made 84 appearances for Villa, conceding 83 goals, and keeping 27 clean sheets. Whilst Schmeichel only joined Villa at 38-years-old, making 36 appearances for the club, conceding 45 goals, keeping ten clean sheets, and even scoring a goal.
But perhaps the best of the lot, is their current goalkeeper, Emiliano Martínez, who was bought for just £17m from Arsenal, and is now considered the best “in the world” in his position, have been labelled this by Argentina teammate Lionel Messi.
Emiliano Martínez rise to the top
Since joining in 2020, the 32-year-old has made 168 appearances for Villa, conceding 204 goals, keeping 57 clean sheets, and totaling 14,960 minutes played.
In this time, Martinez has also made 47 appearances for his country, winning the Copa América twice, and the World Cup in 2022.
According to GIVEMESPORT last year, Martinez was valued at around £60m by Aston Villa, with Dean Jones stating he would consider leaving to “step up a level”. Since then, Villa have qualified for the Champions League, and the shot-stopper seems to be content at the club, competing on all fronts.
Martinez continues to impress, making ten appearances this season in all competitions so far, conceding just ten goals, and keeping three clean sheets in 900 minutes. The Argentine is now worth more than triple the cost he was bought for back in 2020, as he sits at the table with the world’s best goalkeepers.
Martinez compared to some of the world's best
Some top names also considered in this elite category, are Alisson Becker of Liverpool, Thibaut Courtois from Real Madrid, and Yann Sommer from Inter Milan. Of course, some other top names are David Raya, Ederson, Mike Maignan, Manuel Neuer and Marc-André ter Stegen.
Stats (per 90 mins)
Martinez
Alisson
Courtois
Sommer
Goals Against
1.00
0.38
0.73
1.00
Shots on Target Against
4.10
2.66
2.91
4.22
Saves
3.00
2.28
2.27
3.11
Save %
78.0%
85.7%
75.0%
78.9%
Clean Sheets
0.30
0.51
0.36
0.44
Crosses Stopped
1.50
0.25
0.80
0.33
Defensive Actions Outside Pen Area
0.90
1.65
0.40
0.44
Passes Attempted
35.7
38.4
45.5
37.8
Pass Completion %
78.4%
80.5%
86.2%
87.6%
When you compare the metrics of Martinez so far this season with other top tier names, you can see why he is viewed in this bracket of players. Villa face more shots than the likes of Liverpool and Real Madrid, with Martinez facing 4.10 shots per 90, Alisson facing 2.66, and Courtois facing 2.91.
Despite this, Martinez’s save metrics are still excellent, also only conceding 1.00 per 90 (same as Sommer), and stopping the most crosses with 1.50 stopped per 90, compared to the other names who all average below 0.80, with the second-best being Courtois for this metric.
Villa will want to hold onto their superstar keeper, despite his meteoric rise in value, and the performances he is putting in week in, week out, are bound to have Villa battling for the top four again this season.