“This is what gratitude looks like” – Arsenal fans aim dig at Emi Martinez as former player speaks up on Emirates experience

Various Arsenal fans on social media have spoken out against former player Emiliano Martinez. The criticism comes after Francis Coquelin’s comments reminiscing about his time at the Emirates emerged recently.

Since making his move to Aston Villa in 2020, Emiliano Martinez has established himself as one of the best keepers in the Premier League. The Argentinian spent close to a decade with the Gunners but was sent out on loan to six different teams. Martinez managed just 15 Premier League appearances for Arsenal, nine of which came during the 2019-20 season.

As a result, he moved to Villa at the age of 27 and does not look back at his time with the Gunners too fondly. Martinez famously claimed that moving to Aston Villa was a step up for him, although he can be forgiven for thinking that way. Other reports of him criticizing Arsene Wenger and advising younger players not to listen to the former Arsenal manager have also come up.

Meanwhile, Francis Coquelin recently looked back on his time with Arsenal fondly. The 30-year-old Frenchman also spent a decade at the club and now plies his trade with Spanish club Villareal. Coquelin said the following about his time with the Gunners:

"I was very young when Arsenal signed me. I wasn’t even 18- years- old. And I learnt a lot there, I was trained as a player and as a person. I was, between loans, ten years at Arsenal. It’s a lifetime, it is my home."

After Coquelin's comments, many Arsenal fans took to Twitter to suggest Martinez to learn from the Frenchman about gratitude. Some of the reactions are:

As the tweets suggest, Arsenal fans want Emiliano Martinez to take a leaf out of Coquelin’s book.

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Arsenal look to their roots as Mikel Arteta set sights on contending for trophies

Until around a decade ago, Arsenal along with Manchester United were famous for their tradition of developing youngsters into superstars. Both clubs have had to contend with long periods of transition after their long-term managers left, albeit for different reasons. The past few years have not been the best of times for youngsters coming through the ranks at either club.

There is still more than a fair share of problems at Old Trafford. Meanwhile, Arsenal fans will be satisfied with the progress Arteta has managed to achieve since his arrival.

The Spanish manager learned from the very best in Pep Guardiola and has promoted multiple youngsters to the first team in recent months. These include the likes of Emile Smith Rowe and Bukayo Saka.

The summer transfer window was initially considered a failure, especially amid the backdrop of Cristiano Ronaldo’s return to English football. However, the team has settled down in the past few weeks and have made it a habit to grind out victories.

Of course, the job is far from done, as evident by comprehensive losses to Manchester City and Liverpool in recent weeks. However, Arteta has a number of young stars who are only going to get better in the coming years.