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Aston Villa goalkeeper, Emiliano Martinez, has said he left Arsenal due to lack of trust.

The Argentine came through the ranks at the Gunners after joining from Independiente in 2010 as a 17-year-old.

He was out on loan several times, before he signed permanently for Villa in 2020.

“I love everything about Arsenal,” Martinez told Sky Sports. “I still love them and I’m still watching the games, but I just felt like they didn’t trust me like they should have.

“That’s the reality because they kept buying goalkeepers to go in front of me and I was the goalkeeper from the academy.

“When I was on a high, I still felt like they didn’t deserve me because of the way they were treating me. They couldn’t guarantee me the games I needed, so I thought that if they couldn’t guarantee me the games I needed, then I’m moving on.

“They didn’t say to me that I wasn’t going to play, they just didn’t guarantee me the games that I wanted to play.

“So after 10 years, I decided to leave, and it was very difficult. My family didn’t understand why I was leaving when I was at such a good level at Arsenal, but it was my decision to leave and I’m really proud I did it.

“It was a gamble, but I always believe that if you stay in the comfort zone, you will never reach anything in life. I decided to take the step-up.”