Arnau Martinez: Scouting Report by Louis Readman
Date of birth: 25/04/2003 (20 years old)
Nationality: Spanish
Club: Girona
Position: centre-back, right-back
Height: 181cm (5ft. 9in)
Weight: 75kg (165 lbs)
Preferred foot: right
Youth: FC Barcelona, Hospitalet, Girona B
Market value: €15m (Transfermarkt)
Similar player: Cesar Azpilicueta
Arnau Martinez is a well rounded and complete right back who is on amazing form in his first LaLiga season with Girona, last season he starred in the Girona team dictating the play from right back, ultimately helping then get promotion through play off’s. Recently he has featured in the Spanish U21 team, playing a full 90 minutes in a 0-0 draw against France. Arnau Martinez’s ability is very clear when watching Girona play, he is a player who is capable of controlling the play and is able to play the ball out from the defence, advancing play in various ways.
Player history:
Arnau Martinez was born on April 25th 2003 in the municipality of Premià de Dal, a region of Catalonia with a population below 10,000. In 2016 he joined Barcelona’s youth team before moving to CE L’Hospitalet after only 2 years at the club from ages 13-15, before ultimately moving to Girona youth in 2020. Arnau Martinez has played in the vast majority of the side’s LaLiga matches in the 2022/2023 season, making 28 appearances overall with 2,296 minutes of game time.
Martinez joined Girona in October 2020 from Girona II for whom he made seven league appearances in total, scoring one goal. In Arnau Martinez’s last cup match he had an unfortunate win but played extremely well having 3 clearances, 5 tackles and 1 clearance off the line.
Playing style:
Arnau Martinez is a right footed right back who is extremely well rounded and is able to dictate the speed of play by being able come close to the defensive pairing helping them escape a press and then can turn well and distribute the ball whilst remaining composed. At only 5 foot 9 inches he still has a good aerial presence. He isn’t an attacking full back he likes to remain in a defensive position in case of a loss of possession which could possibly lead to a counter attack, his crossing ability is at a really high quality, he doesn’t try swing in a cross in at high speeds, instead he likes to place his crosses and uses his precision to make the best opportunity for the player in the box. He has an amazing calm and composed first touch will allows him to be able to run past a player if he thinks it is needed using small burst of energy and his low centre of gravity to skip past players. Though his small size he doesn’t use his fast speeds as much as you would imagine, instead he uses his high quality of technique to keep his team in possession. Arnau Martinez has a bit of versatility when it comes to his positioning, when playing with a three-man line, he is able to play as a right-sided centre-back which I think could really suit his playing style due to being able to remain composed under a high press and re distribute the ball.
Game notes:
Girona vs Almeria – LaLiga match (17/02/2023)
- Played as a Right back in a 4-4-2
- Named as a starter and remained on the pitch for the full 90 minutes
- He isn’t overly aggressive, he instead stays back during a heavily invested attack in an attempt to provide his defence safety in case of a counter attack
- He provides several beautiful crosses in this match, one of which leads on an assist within the first 10 minutes of the match. His composure allows him to deliver a good paced and well placed cross
- At times he is able to run through the midfield providing a passing option for the winger, after he receives the ball he is able to deliver a through ball in behind the defence
- Seems to be very calm when releasing the ball resulting in smooth sections of build up play that allows for fast paced football
- At sections in the match he appears to be very confident in his ability to move with the ball
- He doesn’t attempt to overly stretch the pitch as he would prefer to support the midfielders in case they are pressed and need a wider option who can offer support
What’s next?
This is Arnau Martinez’s first season in LaLiga, though he seems to be a very well developed and a highly experienced player, with a good knowledge of the importance of positioning, it would be quite a risk to spend so much on a player with such few minutes of game time in the top flight of Spain. With Girona currently fighting to be playing in a European competition next season, Arnau Martinez will have a good chance to develop his playing style and push his abilities even further, with the possibility of European football he has a massive chance to show his abilities on the biggest stage. If he continues to perform at this level I have no doubt that at some point in the next season a club with get his signature, he may even make it into the Spanish first team within the next year.