Emiliano Martinez makes new Aston Villa demand after admitting cup frustrations

Goalkeeper Emi Martinez has tasted World Cup glory with his country Argentina, but he admits he is desperate to end Aston Villa’s trophy drought in the FA Cup this season

Emi Martinez has targeted glory with Aston Villa, saying: “I want an FA Cup run.”

The Argentine—feted as the world ’s No.1 by his club and its supporters—has set out his stall in a typically forthright fashion. Martinez may be rested against West Ham as Villa have seven games in 22 days and has both professional and personal reasons for wanting the club to progress.

He said: “I want silverware for the club. I want a cup run and I was very frustrated to be knocked out by Crystal Palace in the Carabao Cup. I think the fans deserve to be in Wembley at the end of the season. It is something missing for the club for many years. I want cups and I know the feeling it brings for myself and the fans.”

Villa’s season has yet to hit the heights attained last year. But they are likely to finish in the top eight of the Champions League table and lie just four points behind fourth-placed Chelsea.

However, Villa have not won the FA Cup since 1957 and it is 29 years since Andy Townsend lifted the League Cup. Martinez added: “For me, anything is possible in football. When I came here the club were not in the situation we are in now.

“The season before I arrived, we finished 17th, and then progressively, we were 11th, seventh, and fourth. The season so far has been good – not like I want it to be – but we knew that playing in the Champions League and competing in the top four would be tough.

“We had to sell players and the new players needed time to adapt, which they are doing now. We are doing well.”

Martinez says that success in the competition will place him back in the spotlight. He is the winner of back-to-back Lev Yashin awards – the first time any keeper had won the top FIFA prize – and says that to remain in the hunt for a third, he needs Villa to do well.

He added: “I was talking to my agent, my dad and my wife, saying that you can’t really enjoy awards. It’s game after game after game. Once you get to that level you need to perform week in, week out.

“Everyone expects you to perform and everyone is waiting for you to make a mistake, saying ‘that’s the best ‘keeper making mistakes’. We are struggling to keep clean sheets and that’s hurting me a lot because I demand a lot in myself.”

Meanwhile, boss Unai Emery has suggested that supporters back his decision to allow Jaden Philogene to move to Ipswich Town in a deal valued at £23m.

The Spaniard wanted to see the England Under-21 international back at Villa Park and sanctioned a move to buy him back from Hull City.

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He said: “We are trying to get the best for the club, the best for the team and the player. We try to make the best decision, trying to analyze each situation deeply.

“Jaden, we believe in him, it is the reason we signed him last summer. We pushed a lot to bring him here.

“But after the last six months, he was not being consistent for different circumstances, and for the club, other teams were calling us interested in him. It works for the club.”