Will Yashin Trophy winner Emi Martinez be punished for costly mistake? Aston Villa stance on Argentine World Cup hero revealed

The Argentina international, who helped his country World Cup glory at Qatar 2022, was recognised as the best goalkeeper on the planet at the 2023 Ballon d’Or ceremony. Martinez has, for the most part, been a model of consistency for club and country over a long period of time.

The enigmatic 31-year-old did, however, drop a clanger during his latest Premier League appearance. He contributed in a negative way to Villa suffering a 2-0 defeat away at Nottingham Forest, with Martinez palming a speculative strike from Orel Mangala up into the air before seeing the ball loop behind him and over the line.

Errors such as that are few and far between in Martinez’s game, and Villa boss Unai Emery will not be taking any action against the South America. The Spanish tactician has said: “We are human and we can make mistakes. I am never punishing the mistakes of the players because I want to try to get confidence in everybody, practising, trying to do everything well. Of course, when we are facing other teams we have to get better than them, but we are never punishing the mistakes. Not only for Emiliano, that is for everybody.”

Martinez will likely keep his place between the sticks for a Europa League outing against AZ Alkmaar on Thursday, before then facing Fulham in Villa’s final Premier League fixture before the next international break is reached.