Aston Villa Ready £10m Move for Arsenal's Emiliano Martinez

Aston Villa are ready to pounce on Arsenal's healthy goalkeeper situation by readying a £10m bid for Emiliano Martinez.

Currently Arsenal's longest serving player, the Argentine was thrust into the first team towards the end of last season when regular starter Bernd Leno suffered a knee injury against Brighton.

Despite a distinct lack of Premier League experience, Martinez excelled in goal for Mikel Arteta, recording the highest save percentage of any stopper in the division and earning plaudits from not just inside the club.

However, with Leno back fit and Arsenal in need of funds to finance a host of summer arrivals, it was revealed that the Gunners would be willing to let the 27-year-old leave in if an acceptable bid arrived.

As per the Independent, the first such offer is incoming from Aston Villa, who are piecing together a deal worth £10m. That offer is thought to be around half of the Gunners' valuation, a figure which has risen in recent months due to the string of impressive performances from Martinez.

In Saturday's Community Shield win over Liverpool, Martinez got the nod over his German teammate in the starting lineup, with Arteta heaping praise on his goalkeeper after the match.

“I think Emi has shown in the last few months what he is able to do for this football club. I am convinced that he has the level to play for us consistently at that level," he told the Evening Standard.

"He showed that on Saturday in a final. But I cannot stop the speculation. That is something I cannot stop and what other people can write about us. I am not going discuss publicly what is happening with other players.”

Villa's first choice keeper Tom Heaton is only just returning from a long-term injury, while Pepe Reina has since joined Lazio after a brief loan spell in the Midlands last season, prompting Dean Smith to enter the market for reinforcements between the sticks.

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