Emi Martinez says that the club told him he’s been earmarked to replace Petr Cech in the squad next season when the veteran retires from the game at the end of this campaign.
The 26 year old joined Reading on loan last week, where hopefully he’ll get plenty of football under his belt, and although he’s not thinking as far ahead as the summer, the incentive has been given to him as he looks to kick his career on.
Despite being the same age as current number 1 Bernd Leno, he has made just 60 first team appearances for Arsenal and a host loan clubs, as opposed to the 350+ the German has to his name for Bayer Leverkeusen, Arsenal and the German national side.
Martinez made his debut for the Royals last weekend in their 1-1 draw with Bolton, and spoke about his hopes for this season and beyond.
“I have three years left on my contract at Arsenal,” he said.
‘Now Cech is retiring I was told when I came to Reading that next year they want me to be the backup. But I’m not thinking about next season yet.
“I am not thinking about what may happen in the summer, we will look at it then. All I know is Reading is my team now.
“I want to play regular games and I want to help Reading.”
You’d imagine his chances of making that step up are dependent on how he performs during this loan spell, so best of luck top him