But one is about to follow in the other’s footsteps – in a roundabout way. Long before he was lifting trophies, winning individual accolades and starring in the Premier League for Aston Villa, Martinez was just another deputy. For almost a decade, he sat on the bench for Arsenal behind older, established goalkeepers, and had to bide his time.Aston Villa bought him from Adelaide United for a reported $2.
Joe Gauci broke the A-League’s transfer record when he signed for Aston Villa on deadline day in January.Gauci had turned down earlier interest in the transfer window because he didn’t want to sacrifice regular game time – but this, he says, was an impossible offer to refuse.Advertisement “It’s a bit of a change in mindset in my career, going from playing and being the most experienced goalkeeper at Adelaide to now being the least experienced,” he said.“He’s completely dedicated to winning and results,” Gauci said. “I guess some people have been maybe judgmental of some of the ways that he goes about things, but away from that, he’s very relaxed, a big character in the change room and loves to have a joke.