Emiliano Martinez never gave up. He couldn’t either, considering what his family had sacrificed for him to become a footballer.
That was why when his Arsenal team-mates basked in the glory of their FA Cup victory, he was spotted perched on the side of the Wembley pitch with his headphones on, speaking to his family back in Argentina.
The old adage insists good things come to those who wait, but that requires patience and trust. No one has waited longer than Martinez for an opportunity to play in the biggest fixtures.
It is fair to say the majority of his team-mates will be lending their support to Jack Grealish and Tyrone Mings, the Aston Villa duo whom are part of the England squad preparing for the Euro 2020 final at Wembley on Sunday.
But Martinez is also preparing for the biggest match of his career. At the age of 28, he will line up between the sticks for Argentina in Sunday’s Copa America final against rivals Brazil.
Martinez was the hero for his country, saving three penalties in the shootout against Colombia to take La Albiceleste to the final, with the two sides unable to be separated after a 1-1 draw in 90 minutes.
Martínez denied Davinson Sanchez, Yerry Mina and Edwin Cardona from the spot and used the dark arts to help get the job done. He could be seen on the TV cameras uttering trash talk to distract the Colombians… and it worked.
It was a moment of vindication for Martinez, who always believed he could be his country's first-choice shot-stopper but was left frustrated by a lack of opportunities at Arsenal.
“I’m speechless,” said Argentine keeper Martínez. “They took us to penalties and that’s a question of luck, today it was my turn for glory.”
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Only a humble character would claim that making three saves in a penalty shootout was down to luck. Of course, the different variables often mean they can be a lottery for the player stepping up from 12 yards.
But from a goalkeeper’s perspective, it is all about preparation. They study penalty habits and patterns for hours before knockout games, learning everything they need to know about the taker in front of them.
Some tend to be better at it than others, with Pepe Reina and Diego Alves renowned as top shootout stoppers, while Manchester United ’s David de Gea has infamously gone 40 penalties without making a penalty save.
To play down his role in their victory shows why Martinez is so endearing. If he genuinely did not believe in his ability, receiving backing from arguably the greatest player to grace the game would have certainly boosted his confidence.
As ever, Messi was a huge influence and set up Lautaro Martinez for Argentina’s goal, taking his assist tally to four on top of the five he had already scored in the tournament. But it appeared he was almost relieved one of his team-mates had embraced being the hero for once.
”[A] Penalty shootout is total luck, but we knew Emiliano will stop at least two," said Messi. "He deserves it, he is a monster of a 'keeper."
Like many young hopefuls who hail from the Latin American nation, the road to the top has been rocky and uncertain after hewas cherry-picked from Independiente’s academy by Arsenal in 2012.
Martinez learnt his trade in England with no fewer than six loan spells, from Sheffield Wednesday to Getafe and back to Reading. It was all a learning curve for him but his spell in the Championship suggested he was ready to be included in the Gunners’ matchday squads.
His chance arrived when Bernd Leno was ruled out with injury. Martinez was drafted in to deputise for the German and he didn’t just impress, he excelled — to the point where Mikel Arteta seriously considered making him his undisputed number one.
Over the course of 11 games, he proved to be exactly the kind of towering presence the Gunners had been missing since Petr Cech’s retirement. His ability to pluck the ball out of the air, combined with his cat-like reflexes, made him difficult to beat.
When he was deployed in goal for the 2019-20 FA Cup final against Chelsea, Christian Pulisic found a way past him in the early moments. But for the rest of the final, the Blues were frustrated in their attempts break down Martinez’s forcefield.
When their 2-1 victory was finally confirmed, wild celebrations took place on the pitch and in the stands. But Martinez struggled to process what he had achieved, breaking down in tears on live television.
An FA Cup winner with Arsenal, having spent the majority of his club career away from the club? It was impossible to comprehend.
In an interview with The Independent in 2020, Martinez explained why the tears flowed on that glorious day at Wembley: “For years I waited. I thought ‘why don’t they trust me?’ I thought the chance was never going to come,” he said.
Despite being assured by Arteta he would start the next season in goal, Martinez left for Aston Villa for £20m in the summer of 2020. He had made only 15 league appearances in eight years, so few could blame him for wanting to try his hand somewhere else.
“I was finally the No1 and I was ready for it. It took 10 years to get there,” he added. “You train as a goalkeeper every day, but nobody prepares you for the story of your life.
“Nobody trains you to be frustrated, nobody trains you to cry. What about when you don’t play for four months? Will you keep going or will be you be mentally dead?
“I could’ve done so much more over the years, but finally the world started to see what I’m capable of. I finished on a high and that’s how I always wanted to leave.”
If it felt like a gamble to leave his club of eight years, his record of 17 clean sheets last season proved it was the right move. Meanwhile, the bosses over in north London were left red-faced by his achievements.
It is no understatement to suggest Martinez has, after his rapid rise, earned his status as one of the top-10 goalkeepers in Europe. And his country will need him to be at his world-class best when facing the likes of Neymar, Gabriel Jesus and Richarlison.
Winning the Copa America is Argentina’s best chance of ending their 28-year trophy drought and perhaps the last chance for Messi to experience glory at international level after their World Cup heartbreak in 2014.
For Martinez, though, he will take the time to reflect on his difficult upbringing and channel his emotions into trying to clinch the trophy for his family, as he did when he sealed his move to Villa.
“All those hard moments, what I’ve suffered, seeing my dad cry because we couldn’t pay the bills…. that was all I ever knew,” he added.
“I couldn’t let my family suffer like that for the rest of their lives. So when I look back on it now, it’s a beautiful thing.”
It could come down to penalties again if Argentina and Brazil are deadlocked after 120 minutes, but the 28-year-old will be ready for that.
If Martinez is responsible for the shootout victory this time around, maybe then he will finally concede it was more than just a matter of luck.