Often described as one of the best goalkeepers in the world, Martínez is known for his distribution and shot-stopping ability. He has also been noted for his passionate style and bravado in goal, as well as his technique and mentality when stopping penalty kicks. However, some sports journalists have voiced the opinion that Martínez's talent is exaggerated. In 2025, Phil McNulty, BBC Sport’s chief football writer, stated: “Some Aston Villa fans may regard this as sacrilege, but I actually think Emi Martínez is overrated. He is certainly not "the world's number one", as we are so often told. Far from it, in fact.” In the run-up to the announcement of the winner of the 2024 Yashin Trophy, football journalistic website 3 Added Minutes noted that Martínez's goals prevented relative to expected goals ranked unfavorably compared to fellow nominees Yann Sommer, Unai Simón, Gianluigi Donnarumma, Giorgi Mamardashvili, and Gregor Kobel. After Martínez won the award, Goal journalist James Westwood opined that “He has certainly enjoyed holding that title, but does he really deserve it? The answer is no, especially not ahead of truly world-class operators like Thibaut Courtois, Alisson Becker, Jan Oblak and Gianluigi Donnarumma. Martinez is a good goalkeeper who has done remarkably well to achieve so much after waiting eight years for his chance to shine at Arsenal, but he's not a great one. When Martinez eventually hangs up his gloves, he will be remembered more for his antagonising abilities than those with his hands or feet.” During the 2023–24 season, Martínez became the goalkeeper with the most own goals to his name (3) in Premier League history. Criticism of Martínez intensified in the 2024–25 season, where he conceded 45 goals in total. Only four Premier League goalkeepers conceded more over the course of the season; additionally, of the 43 goalkeepers to play any number of minutes in the top flight since August, he ranked 36th in terms of the difference between the expected goals he faced and those he conceded. Critics also perceived an increase in the number of major errors made by Martínez.

Combining the 59 penalties faced by Martínez in regulation and competitive shoot-outs during that time span, of which Martínez saved 13 and saw five missed outright, results in a 69.5% conversion rate. Martínez's role goes beyond simply saving penalties; he is known for using psychological tactics and gamesmanship to distract and intimidate opposing penalty takers. Former goalkeeper Matt Pyzdrowski described Martínez's penalty kick antics as "one of the most aggressive and disruptive approaches that you will ever see." Felipe Cardenas of The Athletic has also highlighted his "theatrical methods of intimidation". Martínez's approach to penalties has drawn some criticism for a perceived lack of sportsmanship. French goalkeeper Hugo Lloris, who participated in a penalty shoot-out with Martínez in the 2022 FIFA World Cup final, later stated "there are some things I can't do. Making a fool of myself in goal, rattling my opponents, crossing that line... I'm too rational and honest a man to go that way." The International Football Association Board has discussed changing its rules to discourage goalkeepers from employing similar tactics in the future. When asked about potential rule changes, Martínez responded "I already saved the penalties that I had to save."

In the 2021 Copa América semi-final against Colombia, Martínez subjected several of the Colombian penalty takers to a barrage of insults. Three of the Colombian players—Davinson Sánchez, Yerry Mina, and Edwin Cardona—had their penalty kicks saved, allowing Argentina to advance to the final. During a 2021 Premier League match between Aston Villa and Manchester United at Old Trafford, United were awarded a penalty in stoppage time, with Bruno Fernandes taking it. As preparations for the penalty began, Martínez openly questioned Fernandes why his United teammate Cristiano Ronaldo was not taking it. Martínez employed a number of gamesmanship tactics during the 2022 FIFA World Cup quarter-final against the Netherlands, including: pretending to hand the ball to Steven Berghuis before dropping it, kicking the ball to the side while staring down Teun Koopmeiners prior to his turn, and kicking the ball into the centre circle as Wout Weghorst approached the penalty area. Two Netherlands players—Berghuis and Virgil van Dijk—had their penalties saved by Martínez, resulting in Argentina advancing to the semi-final. In the 2022 FIFA World Cup final against France, Martínez used similar tactics. After both Kylian Mbappé and Kingsley Coman placed the ball for their kicks, Martínez argued with the referee about whether the ball was placed properly, disrupting each takers' preparations. Prior to Aurélien Tchouaméni's kick, Martínez grabbed the ball and tossed it to the side, forcing Tchouaméni to retrieve it. Martínez shouted "I've watched you" and gesticulated to Randal Kolo Muani as Muani prepared for his shot; the referee issued Martinez a yellow card for this behavior. Coman's effort was saved by Martínez and Tchouaméni missed his shot, helping Argentina win the shoot-out and the World Cup. In the second leg of the 2023–24 UEFA Europa Conference League quarter-finals between Aston Villa and Lille, Lille supporters booed and jeered Martinez throughout the game. When the match culminated in a penalty shoot-out, Martínez was booked for gesturing towards the opposing fans after blocking Nabil Bentaleb's shot, but despite being booked earlier in the game, Martínez was not sent off for a second yellow card, as yellow cards given before shoot-outs do not carry over into the shoot-out.

From English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA