Aston Villa Would Be Wiser Unleashing Emiliano Martinez

In his first game after the disappointment of losing the World Cup Final to Argentina Kylian Mbappe found himself in the bizarre situation of answering questions about the opponent’s celebrations.

After a match-winning performance in the penalty shootout goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez called on his teammates to hold a minute’s silence for the French marksman as they celebrated in the Lusail Stadium locker room.

The shot-stopper continued to mock Mbappe as the team toasted the victory back in their homeland posing with a doll with the player’s face stuck to the front.

“Celebrations are not my problem,” the Paris Saint-Germain forward said, “I don’t waste energy on such futile things.”

The young striker might have taken the high road, but it’s fair to say Martinez’s antics have been viewed differently by some of Mbappe’s compatriots.

French journalist Karl Olive was appalled at Martinez’s behavior, not just his mocking of the Les Bleus star, but also the way he placed his individual honor to his groin.

“I hope that there will be a complaint that will be filed by the French Football Federation in relation to the embroidery doll or this wooden box with the photo of Kylian Mbappé. It’s unbearable. That’s not the sport. Do you realize the degraded image? Are we going to show this as an example?” He raged.

“When I see the obscene way in which he held his trophy as best goalkeeper of the tournament because he is a great goalkeeper, I would like FIFA to withdraw his trophy, for that reason,” Olive continued.

Ex-France defender Adil Rami was another to declare his distaste for Martinez describing him as “the most hated man.”

The Aston Villa keeper’s behavior has created such a furor he returned to club soccer with his coach promising to have words with him.

“I want to speak with him when he will come here next week but I am thinking more about his performance and his win, than his celebration,” his new manager Unai Emery explained.

“The celebration is for the supporters, with really big emotions. It’s not really a good moment as a coach to identify why.

“I prefer to be focused on how he performed and how he is going to win with us afterwards. I am going to speak with him because I want to control him about that as well – his emotions. We have to have values, we have to focus on behavior when we are together and with the opposition players,” the Spaniard added.

Emery clearly wants to take a diplomatic approach, but really he gains absolutely nothing from doing so.

The complaints about Martinez are part of a wider backlash against the way Argentina celebrated winning the crown. From influencer Salt Bae being allowed on the pitch to retired Argentina forward Sergio Aguero being part of the party fans and pundits have aired their disapproval.

A third party in all this nonsense Aston Villa should be leaning into their goalkeeper playing a starring role in the biggest game of all if anything.

Starting from the bottom

Not a man known for his people skills, Emery didn’t just say he’d be talking to Martinez about the partying, he warned him about maintaining focus.

“He is going to be available physically and his mentality we are going to check,” he added.

“Hopefully he is coming 100 percent focused on Aston Villa. Of course, he needs to adapt quickly again in our work.

“[He has] to adapt again in a new way with us. Congratulations to him and now we are here thinking of our step ahead with Aston Villa.”

The situation the Villa boss faces is clearly unprecedented, in normal times there would be several weeks for a World Cup-winning hero to party, come back down to earth and then prepare for normal life.

But the scheduling of a World Cup bang in the middle of the European domestic calendar means the ticker tape has barely been cleared from the streets of Buenos Aires and there is a game against Tottenham Hotspur to worry about.

It would be tough for even the most level-headed person to leave such a high behind, with that in mind it makes more sense to try and harness that energy than detract from it.

Martinez is not a player whose career has been played in the bubble of elite soccer, he may have joined Arsenal as a 17-year-old, but loan spells at Oxford United, Rotherham United and Sheffield Wednesday over 10 years have given him a firm idea of the lower echelons of the game.

His ascent to Argentina number one has been totally unexpected and, in part, due to the distinct lack of alternatives the nation has at its disposal.

The rise to the top has also been powered by a self-belief that at times has bordered on arrogance, as well as a healthy dose of eccentricity.

An eyes bulging shoulder shuffle between kicks, chucking the ball away before the penalty, amping up the fans and verbally jousting the kicker were aspects of the charismatic personality that powered Argentina to victory in the Copa America through several shootouts.

His deployment of these tools on an even bigger stage worked wonders and Aston Villa would be foolish not to try and exploit them too.