Chris Sutton has said that Aston Villa’s Emiliano Martinez was better than Manchester City’s Ederson in the entirety of the year, 2023.
The pundit was surprised after Robbie Savage picked the Manchester City goalkeeper in his Premier League team of the calendar year during BBC’s Football Phone In show.
Of course, Sutton also crowned Rodri as the best out of any player in the league throughout the year in the same episode of the show.
Chris Sutton says Emiliano Martinez was better than Ederson in 2023
In December, Jamie Carragher had claimed that the Brazilian international was having an underwhelming season by his own high standards.
Looking at both goalkeepers’ goals conceded in the league, the £35 million (Eurosport) man has shipped 21 while Martinez has let in 27 goals so far.
However, it seems like Chris Sutton was convinced about Emiliano Martinez being the standout goalkeeper in the Premier League in 2023 over Ederson.
“Ederson, seriously?”, he initially replied on BBC’s Football Phone In Show.
“Has he been top-drawer? I’m going for Aston Villa’s [Emiliano] Martinez.”
“Well, he’s a World Cup winner and I think he’s been the best goalkeeper in the Premier League.”
When Robbie Savage pinpointed how Emiliano Martinez won the World Cup in late 2022, he replied, “It doesn’t matter!”
“Hang on a minute. Where are Aston Villa in the league? Look at Aston Villa in this calendar year and they have been an outstanding team, okay? You can have a team full of Manchester City players, that’s fine. I’ve got a few Manchester City players myself. But I think most people would think Martinez is better than Ederson.”
Ederson has certainly been better than the Aston Villa goalkeeper
As Robbie Savage pinpointed, considering Emiliano Martinez became a World Cup winner in 2022, Chris Sutton makes a moot point when trying to make a case for him as opposed to Ederson.
Furthermore, if bringing up trophies, the Manchester City No.1 won five in 2023 alone, including a historic treble.
While Emiliano Martinez is a class act, he also does not have the same level of impact Ederson does on his team’s approach as well.
Internationally, Martinez may have bettered the 30-year-old but at club level, the latter belongs amongst some of the very best in Europe.
Ederson is as reliable, if not more than Emiliano Martinez as a shotstopper and in terms of how he claims crosses and marshals his side’s backline.
On the ball, it is simply a no-contest between the pair, which makes the comparison itself slightly puzzling.
