There was a lot made of the exclusion of Emiliano Martínez from the matchday squad for the Crystal Palace match. While the keeper was awaiting a move to Manchester United, the negotiations reportedly took place. As is known now, however, 'Dibu' is remaining in B6 for the time being.
Unai Emery was left with a choice. For all of the dialogue that has happened this summer, Martínez would certainly be everyone's first choice in net when only taking abilities into account.
The morning of the Palace match, the Villa boss was certainly in what would be an uncomfortable position for most people. Martínez had and likely still has the clear desire to join Manchester United for whatever reason at the moment. United made a push to acquire the keeper, particularly after seeing their keeper position completely dissolve beyond what was initially thought during the earlier summer months.
It is unknown what exactly transpired or how the conversation at Villa went. What is clear, though, is that Emery was not interested in having someone on the pitch who is of a torn mind as to wanting to be a Villan.
Instead, Emery elected to go with Marco Bizot. The Dutchman played well during the opening fixture of the season. While Bizot's performance took a step back from the Newcastle United fixture, most Villa fans would be more than willing to see the new keeper signing to continue to play after how the Martínez situation unfolded.
Correct decision despite Aston Villa loss
Although the Palace match ended in a disastrous loss, Emery still did the right thing in not including Martínez in the matchday squad. A team needs to be unified. With Martínez's focus on what he thought was going to be his next destination, the Villa boss took away any potential conflict of interest.
Now, with Martínez slated to remain at the club, at least for the time being, it will be interesting to see how bridges are mended.