For many, the Argentina international is the best keeper in the world.
And Martinez credits Gracia for much of his success: “I need my feet to follow my head. I have to be fit and balanced to be able to get to any ball. I don’t provoke, I just play. People who know me know who I am. I’m a teddy bear. People say I’m arrogant . I give everything for my club and my country.
"Some like it, others not so much. At clubs, I keep quiet, I don’t do stupid things, unless someone insults me or throws things at me. In Argentina it’s different, the fans want something different. A good save can be my revenge, that’s the beauty of football.”
On manager Unai Emery, he also said: “Unai Emery likes me to keep the ball so he can control the game. He doesn’t want me to give it to the centre-backs if I’m not in a hurry, because they will be. He wants me to come out of my area to stretch our defensive line and build up.
"I play in two positions: I often say that I am a centre-back as well as a goalkeeper. He demands a lot from me in that aspect and I have learned a lot from him . The thing I found most difficult to master was the way we played offside, with a very high line. I spent hours with the goalkeeping coach (Gracia) and the U-21s working on reading the long passes to understand when it was my turn to go forward.”