Emiliano Martínez

Independiente

Born in Mar del Plata, Martínez started his career playing for Independiente's youth team. In 2009, shortly after his 17th birthday, he was invited to trial at Arsenal, and was initially offered a youth contract.

Arsenal

2010–2019: Loan moves and fringe appearances

After impressing in a trial and being approved for a work permit, Martínez was formally registered as an Arsenal player in July 2010. After injuries to Ryan Clarke and Wayne Brown, and the termination of Connor Ripley's loan, Martínez went on emergency loan to Oxford United, making his debut in the Football League in their final game of the season against Port Vale in League Two on 5 May 2012; Port Vale won 3–0. Later that year, Martínez was named on the Arsenal substitute bench for their fixtures away at Stoke City on 26 August and against Liverpool on 2 September, as cover for the injured Wojciech Szczęsny and Łukasz Fabiański, respectively. On 26 September, he made his Arsenal debut in a 6–1 home win against Coventry City in the third-round of the League Cup. He made his second Arsenal appearance in the following round in a 7–5 win away to Reading. Martínez subsequently transferred to Championship club Sheffield Wednesday on an emergency 28-day loan on 15 October 2013. He made his debut for Wednesday on 23 November, against Yorkshire rivals Huddersfield Town. Martínez's loan was eventually extended until the end of the season. After returning to Arsenal, Martínez was…

Martínez was called up to the Argentina senior squad to replace Oscar Ustari to face Nigeria in June 2011. He received his second senior call up against Germany and Ecuador on 9 and 13 October 2019; he was an unused substitute for both friendly matches. Having played a full season as first-choice goalkeeper for Premier League side Aston Villa, 28-year-old Martínez made his international debut on 3 June 2021, in a 1–1 draw with Chile in a 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification match. He subsequently made his competitive debut in a major tournament on 14 June, once again in a 1–1 draw against the same opponent in his team's opening match of the 2021 Copa América at the Estádio Olímpico Nilton Santos in Brazil. In the 57th minute, he saved a penalty from Arturo Vidal, but he failed to prevent Eduardo Vargas from scoring on the rebound. On 6 July, Martínez saved three spot kicks in a 3–2 penalty shootout victory for Argentina over Colombia in the semi-final of the tournament. He went on to finish the tournament with a clean sheet in the 1–0 victory over Brazil in the final. Martínez was also awarded the 2021 Copa América's Golden Glove award as the best keeper of the tournament for his performances. On 1 June 2022, Martínez kept a clean sheet as Argentina won 3–0 against reigning European Champions Italy at Wembley Stadium in the 2022 Finalissima. Martínez was included in Argentina's squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, and played in each of his team's games. He saved two…

Club

As of match played 30 August 2026

International

As of match played 19 July 2026

Martínez started his youth football career with Charruitas and joined Nacional later. He was part of Nacional's 2018 U-20 Copa Libertadores winning squad. He made his professional debut for the club on 16 September 2019 in a 4–1 league win against Liverpool Montevideo. On 30 August 2021, Brazilian club Red Bull Bragantino announced the signing of Martínez on a five-year deal. On 31 August 2022, Martínez joined Danish Superliga club Midtjylland on a season long loan deal with a purchase option. On 16 November 2022, he signed a contract until June 2027 with the club after they exercised their option to buy him on a permanent basis.

In June 2023, Martínez received his first call-up to the senior team for friendly matches against Nicaragua and Cuba. He made his debut on 14 June in a 4–1 win against Nicaragua. In June 2024, Martínez was named in Uruguay's 26-man squad for the 2024 Copa América. On 31 May 2026, he was named in Uruguay's 26-man squad for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

Club

As of match played 12 December 2024

International

As of match played 31 March 2026

Martínez was given the names "Damián Emiliano" on his birth certificate, which caused confusion when he signed for Arsenal and everyone at the club was calling him Damián. "My name was actually going to be Emiliano Damian on my Argentinian ID," Martínez later explained. "But when my mum went to do it in the post office, I don't know where she done it, she was waiting hours and hours in the queue and when they done it they put Damian Emiliano first. To do it again she would have to wait two, three hours so she went 'it's ok, just do it like that, we're going to call him Emi anyway'. It was a bit confusing but now everyone calls me Emi. Damian used to be my grandad's middle name. My mum [originally] wanted just two names – Emiliano Martínez – but because my grandad passed away before I was born she wanted to put Damian in between the two names to have my grandad's name, nothing else." He is nicknamed "Dibu" (abbreviation of Dibujo, Spanish for Drawing), after an animated character in the Argentine telenovela Mi familia es un dibujo. Martínez was given the nickname as a young player by former goalkeeper and goalkeeper coach Miguel Ángel Santoro at Independiente, at a time when the series was highly popular. Martínez has been married to Amanda "Mandinha" (née Gama) since 2017. The couple have a son, Santi, and a daughter, Ava. On 22 December 2022, after winning the 2022 FIFA World Cup with the national team, Martínez was given a welcome reception at Las Toscas resort, in his…

Nacional U20

U-20 Copa Libertadores: 2018 Nacional

Uruguayan Primera División: 2019, 2020 Supercopa Uruguaya: 2021 Midtjylland

Danish Superliga: 2023–24 Palmeiras Campeonato Paulista: 2026 Uruguay

Copa América third place: 2024 Individual

Uruguayan Primera División Team of the Year: 2020