Emiliano Martínez was born on 2 September 1992 in Mar del Plata, Argentina. He joined Arsenal's academy in 2010 and spent a decade there, enduring numerous loan spells at clubs including Oxford United, Sheffield Wednesday, Rotherham United, Wolverhampton Wanderers, Reading and Getafe before finally establishing himself as Arsenal's senior goalkeeper during the 2019-20 season in the absence of Bernd Leno.
In summer 2020 Aston Villa signed him for around £20 million, and the move transformed his career. Under Dean Smith and then Unai Emery, Martínez became one of the Premier League's elite goalkeepers. His shot-stopping statistics, penalty-saving record and aggressive command of his penalty area have consistently placed him among the division's best. He played a central role in Aston Villa's 2023-24 UEFA Champions League qualification campaign and has remained first choice under Emery as Villa established themselves as consistent top-four challengers.
His personality — vocal, combative, psychologically intimidating to opponents — has become a defining feature of his game, particularly in penalty shootouts where his mind games have attracted widespread attention. He saved penalties in multiple key moments for both club and country.
For Argentina he debuted in 2021 and was the undisputed first-choice goalkeeper at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, where his performances — particularly in the final against France and the penalty shootout — were decisive in Argentina's triumph. He was named the best goalkeeper of the tournament. He also starred at the 2024 Copa América, where Argentina successfully defended the title, and received the Yashin Trophy (goalkeeper's Ballon d'Or) in both 2022 and 2023.
Standing 1.95 m, Martínez is a right-footed goalkeeper whose combination of reflex saves, penalty expertise and psychological dominance over opponents draw comparisons to the great Argentine goalkeepers, with the aggression of a Roberto Abbondanzieri and the modern shot-stopping pedigree to challenge any in his era.