Sheffield Wednesday have today signed Arsenal's young goalkeeper Damian Martinez. The 21-year-old, who has been part of the full Argentinian national squad, moves to Hillsborough, initially on a 28-day emergency loan deal.
The keeper is currently behind Wojciech Szczesny, Lukasz Fabianski and Emiliano Viviano in the Gunners pecking order and as such has found his first team opportunities limited. His only senior appearances for Arsenal came in last season's League Cup when he played twice, finishing on the winning side on both occasions though he did concede 5 goals in an eventful victory against Reading.
Owls manager Dave Jones has been quoted as stating that Martinez will provide Kirkland with some much needed competition and it is unlikely that the move will be costing the cash strapped Owls a great deal.
However, the move will raise a few eyebrows given that Kirkland has been largely recognised as Wednesday's best player so far this season without the need for added competition and it is strange that Wednesday have spent time and resources in pursuit of a goalkeeper when the need the improvement in other areas is more pressing unless there is an issue with Kirkland that has not been made public.