Arsenal: Aston Villa drop huge Emiliano Martinez injury update after worrying Unai Emery admission | OneFootball

Aston Villa goalkeeper is a major doubt for a reunion with his former club on Saturday

Martinez has firmly established himself as Villa’s No1 goalkeeper since joining from Arsenal in the summer of 2020.

The Argentina international did endure a slow start to the season after failing to secure a summer exit amid strong links to Manchester United, but has looked back his best in recent weeks which has coinicided with Villa’s rise up the Premier League table.

However, Martinez has emerged as a doubt to face his former club on Saturday after being forced to miss Villa’s 4-3 win over Brighton on Wednesday night.

Initially named in the starting lineup, Martinez had to pull out of the team due to a back injury that prevented him from taking part in a proper warm-up.

Speaking before the Arsenal game, Unai Emery seemed to raise doubts about having Martinez available for selection after delivering a rather worrying update.

He said: “We will train this afternoon, he didn’t train yesterday, but it’s very important for him, how he is passing the hours feeling better.

“Until the last moment, I don’t know if he’s going to be available or not for tomorrow.”

Villa uploaded images from Friday’s training session to their official website and there was no sign of Martinez as the rest of the squad tied up their preparations for the visit of the Gunners.

If Martinez is not passed fit, his replacement is expected to be Marco Bizot following a mixed night at the Amex Stadium.

Bizot conceded three times, made a mistake for Jan Paul van Hecke’s opener but produced a crucial save to deny Danny Welbeck an equaliser in second-half stoppage time to preserve all three points for Villa.