It took ten years for Emiliano Martinez to establish himself at Arsenal and the 27-year-old looks back with pride at all the work he had done to be in the position he is now.
"Talent is not enough," he told Goal when asked to open up on his experience of being a backup goalkeeper. "It’s a mental game. You have to deal with frustration when you don’t play, you have to deal with the pressure. There are no excuses.
"My wife was saying to me in lockdown: ‘why do you train so much?’ Because I thought I might have my chance, I might do it, and look, I have it. After two games I was already fitter than when I left.
"So when Bernd got injured at Brighton, if you see straight after that I had to make a lot of saves, and I made it look easy because I was confident I had done the right thing to prepare for each game. I don’t do week in, week out. I do it day by day. That is why it drives me forward."
Martinez moved to the Emirates in 2010 as a 17-year-old kid. In fact, he is the longest-serving member of the squad: even Hector Bellerin, who seems to have been there forever, joined Arsenal in 2011.
Prior to this season, Emi was considered a somewhat talented goalkeeper who lacked something to compete with the likes of Wojciech Szczesny, Petr Cech and David Ospina.
Having played a massive role in Arteta's side impressive performances after lockdown, the 27-year-old is looking forward to lifting his first major trophy with the Gunners.
He is expected to start the FA Cup final against Chelsea on Saturday and, with the Gunners normally struggling defensively, he will have a big role to play in the most important game of the season.
