Aston Villa signing Emi Martinez is proud of his progress at former club Arsenal.

The Agentine admits upon joining the Gunners "I thought that I wasn't going to make it".

“At the beginning of my first year, I thought that I wasn't going to make it," he told the club's website. “That was the reality then because I had nine goalies in front of me. I always believed I had the talent to do it, but never actually believed in myself that I would do it.

“But then over the years, I remember I was on the bench for a Community Shield, I won three FA Cups and three Community Shields but I wasn't actually part of the team, I wasn't getting the minutes I needed so I never felt that I won it. I was part of the team, but I never felt it was mine.

“I had to go loan after loan after loan to come back and have a chance to become the keeper I am today. I am grateful to be the player I am and the person I am, because I came here as a young boy, single, from Argentina, a poor country and from a poor family, and I am leaving with a wife, with a kid and as a man. Everything because of Arsenal."