There is no doubt that Emiliano Martinez has been enjoying great spells since becoming Argentina’s leading goalkeeper, and his strong personality was clearly demonstrated in the Copa America semi-final against Colombia when he skilfully saved penalties.
Emiliano is not regarded as one of the best goalkeepers in Europe, but he is obviously a step up, being the main goalkeeper for a team like Aston Villa and facing many strong opponents.
It is true that he suffers from some flaws, but he hides them with his good personality, which confuses the attackers in front of him, and this confidence makes him present at even better levels than one would expect to present.
As for Martinez’s replacements, there is Armani, who appears well with River Plate, but his level with Argentina is not promising. As for Roli, we have not seen him enough with the tango company, but he has excelled at Villarreal, especially in the matter of getting the ball out, but he still makes a number of naive mistakes that can push Argentina out of the picture, as he did in last season’s Champions League semi-final second leg against Liverpool.
In short, Emiliano is more reassured than the others, and his absence – if it happens – is a major crisis for Argentina.
