World Cup-winning goalkeeper Aston Villa has been given extra time to recover from his exploits in Qatar, with Unai Emery admitting he needs to chat with the Argentinian.
Aston Villa boss Unai Emery has confirmed he will speak to Emiliano Martinez as his World Cup celebrations continue to cause a stir.
The Argentinian goalkeeper will miss Villa’s Boxing Day clash with Liverpool as he reveled in Argentina’s win in South America. Martinez played a key role in last weekend’s final as a penalty shoot-out mind game helped La Albiceleste to their third world crown.
He continues to make headlines thanks to his trolling of French superstar Kylian Mbappe. The Paris Saint-Germain forward actually beat the Villa keeper four times during the match, including a penalty kick in the shootout.
But after engaging in a war of words before kick-off, Martinez has made it his personal mission to rub Argentina’s win in Mbappe’s face. After initially cheering the 24-year-old on the pitch, the former Arsenal star sarcastically asked the forward to observe a minute of silence as he returned to the dressing room.
He later celebrated with a Mbappe doll during a jubilant scene in Buenos Aires, with the president of the French Football Federation forced to make a formal complaint.
“I wrote to my colleagues from the Argentine Federation, I find these excesses abnormal, in the context of sporting competition,” said Noel Le Graet. “I find it difficult to understand. It goes too far. Mbappé’s behavior is exemplary.”
In the latest update, Emery suggested he would discuss the incident with his players when he decides to return to the Midlands. “When you have big emotions, sometimes it’s difficult to control them,” Emery explained.
“I will talk to him (Martinez) next week about some celebrations, but I respect that he is now with his national team. When he is with us, under our responsibility, we can talk about it.”
However, it looks like the agenda is about to kick off, with new manager Villa heaping praise on his players for his performances during Argentina’s success. Emery added: “We are very proud of him. He won the World Cup with his national team and it was great. Aston Villa fans must be very proud of him.
“He will be back next week. I want him to rest now because after the big emotions and hard work he has to take a few days off to rest then he will come back to work with us. For me, as a coach, I knew him at Arsenal before when I worked with him. I am very happy to be here and working with him again.”
The name Martinez and compatriot Emiliano Buendia missed Lionel Scaloni’s world-conquering squad, but Emery insists he has a big part to play in his own ambitious plans.
“Emi [Buendia] is a very good player and he has a big challenge with Aston Villa,” he continued. “He is very competitive and we can share our work together.
“Every fan should enjoy being with him – a similar position to [Lionel] Messi but they are different. They are both Argentinian but they are different. We want the best from him and he is working hard to do that.”