Emi Martinez saved a penalty on his debut for Aston Villa on Monday night, keeping a clean sheet against 10-man Sheffield United.

Aston Villa's Argentine goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez during the English Premier League football match between Aston Villa and Sheffield Utd at Villa Park in Birmingham, central England on September 21, 2020. (Photo by TIM GOODE/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
Aston Villa’s Argentine goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez during the English Premier League football match between Aston Villa and Sheffield Utd at Villa Park in Birmingham, central England on September 21, 2020. (Photo by TIM GOODE/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Making his debut for his new club on Monday, Martinez got off to the best possible start with a penalty save and a clean sheet.

Other than the penalty, Martinez honestly didn’t have much to do. With Sheffield United down to 10 in the 12th minute, they only managed that one shot on target and the goalkeeper only had to make one high claim.

But in the one moment he had to make a save, the goalkeeper did so. As a result, he earned the clean sheet and the praise afterwards. He told the media he just followed his own judgement on the penalty.

“I just didn’t know where to dive, to be honest,” Martinez said. “But now, it’s something that I do, I just follow my instincts. Obviously penalties are luck…at the end of the day I just follow my instincts.”

The solid debut performance from the former Arsenal man should put him in a good position to nail down Villa’s number-one spot. He’ll face competition from Tom Heaton when the goalkeeper returns from injury, so he needs to impress in the meantime.

If he can keep his place and play regularly to justify his move to Villa, I’ll be happy for him. For now, it’s good to see him making a strong start.