History-maker Martínez on equaling clean sheet record

Emiliano Martínez wrote his name into Aston Villa’s history books with a clean sheet against Bournemouth on Saturday.

A shutout against the Cherries was the Argentine’s 33^rd in 99 Premier League games for the club, equaling the number accrued by both Mark Bosnich and Brad Friedel in their first 100 top flight games.

Martínez admitted the record had been on his mind for a while, praising his teammates for helping him to achieve the feat.

“I was talking to the lads this week, especially defenders, as I obviously couldn’t do it without them,” he said.

“They’ve been really solid since I joined the club, so I want to thank my teammates for the work they’ve been doing.

“In the 99 games I’ve played, I couldn’t have done it without them.”

While Bournemouth managed only three shots on target, Martínez was at his best to keep out Philip Billing’s free-kick with the score at 1-0.

The 30-year-old savours every clean sheet.

He said: “It’s a great feeling. If we had won 3-1, I would go home and not be able to sleep for hours because I always think about what I could have done better to keep the clean sheet.

“I’m very ambitious, I’m so driven to improve; I try to transmit that to the back four and to the starting XI.

“At the end of the day, we keep a clean sheet because Ollie is pressing good, Emi is running back and forward – it’s a team effort.”

Equaling the record also offered the goalkeeper a chance to reflect on how his career has gone from strength to strength since joining Villa in 2020.

Martínez is hoping there are more good times – and clean sheets – to come in the future.

“My career went through the roof since I joined the club,” he said.

“I’ve always said I’m grateful to this club and I love being here.

“My family’s happy at the club; my boy is obsessed with playing football and he plays for Under-6s in the Academy.

“We’re loving our time here and hopefully there are many years to come.”