Emiliano Martínez, the goalkeeper of Arsenal, confessed that he would like to return to Independiente and that it was very difficult to leave the club when he was only 17 years old.
"If there is a club in Argentina that I would go to, it is Independiente. I would never say no, I am very grateful. I always had the bitter taste of not being able to debut in the First Division before going to Europe," said the goalkeeper in an exclusive interview with SportsCenter.
"Sometimes it is difficult for me because of the schedule, but I always like to follow the games. Many people forget that my soccer was created there, from the age of 4 to 17 I played in Argentina," emphasized the Mar del Plata native.
In addition, the 27-year-old goalkeeper revealed that, despite the advantages of playing in European football, it hurt him to leave the country at such a young age.
"It was very difficult for me to leave Independiente. I had very good youth teams, I played U15 with the National Team, a good South American tournament, and Arsenal invited me to train to see if they would make an official offer. When I returned to Argentina, I had the offer. Comparada said he would let me go because they needed the money to build the stadium and my family was going through a tough time. I had no choice but to say yes. Under normal circumstances, I would have preferred to stay at Independiente, but what mattered to me was helping my family have a better life," he concluded.