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Arsenal goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez blatantly tried to dissuade Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk ahead of his 5-4 penalty shootout victory at the Community Shield on Saturday.
After the game ended 1-1 after 90 minutes at Wembley Stadium, Gunners captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang went with his Reds counterpart Van Dijk to flip the coin to see who would take the first penalty during the penalty shoot-out.
Both goalkeepers from each team, Martinez for Arsenal and Alisson for Liverpool, also saw the change with the referee along with their team captains.
With Liverpool winning the draw, Van Dijk chose to have the Reds shoot the penalty and Martinez decided to strike up friendly banter questioning the Dutch defender’s decision.
“Are you sure? Are you sure?” Martinez asked Van Dijk, while Aubameyang can be seen trying to hide a smile.
The absolute * stones * in @ emimartinezz1 VVD say they will shoot first. Emi “Are you sure? Are you sure? “🏵🥇🏆 I should have listened. #COYG #AFC #Arsenal pic.twitter.com/nBx8Np9OOj
– Not that kind of Dr. Jeremy Cook (@ WaterGunner42) August 29, 2020
Martinez got the last laugh on the penalty shootout, when Liverpool youth Rhian Brewster slammed his shot off the crossbar in the only failure to give the Gunners their second trophy in a month, having won the FA Cup on the 1st. of August.
Aubameyang put Arsenal ahead in the match after just four minutes with a surprising curly shot before Takumi Minamino forced the tie with 17 minutes left.
Martinez also played mind games with Reds players during the shootout, especially when young Curtis Jones approached the scene.
The Argentine goalkeeper’s future at Emirates is in doubt, with Bernd Leno locked in as the club’s number one, and Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta admitted that nothing was certain and that Martinez could leave the club.
“We are in the market but there is a lot of speculation,” Arteta said after Community Shield’s victory.
“Emi has shown in recent months what he is capable of doing for this football club, I am convinced that he has the level to play with us consistently at that level, he demonstrated it today in a final.
“I can’t stop speculation or what people write about us.”
Arsenal will start their Premier League campaign on 12 September in newly promoted Fulham, while Liverpool host championship winner Leeds United the following day.
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