Emiliano Martinez has revealed he begged Mikel Arteta to let him leave Arsenal in a text message before joining Aston Villa in the transfer window.
Martinez has been a revelation since joining Villa on the opening weekend of the season, and kept a clean sheet as his new club beat the Gunners 3-0 on Sunday to move up to sixth place in the Premier League.
That was the 28-year-old's fourth shutout of the campaign so far - which will be no surprise to Arsenal fans after he impressed while standing in for Bernd Leno during football's restart in the summer.
After Leno suffered an injury against Brighton in June, Martinez turned in a series of faultless performances and was a hero in the Gunners' FA Cup success.
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