Javi Martinez or Darko Brasanac. The Osasuna fans have debated between both players in recent weeks. The first provides travel and strength, and the second combines both characteristics and is also technically superior. Jagoba Arrasate fully trusts the Serbian and the academy player patiently awaits his moment as a starter while showing when he plays that the coach can bet on him on a regular basis.
The Soriano arrived at the club in his first year as a cadet and renewed last October until 2026, extending his contractual relationship for four more seasons. “He is one of the benchmarks of the Osasuna sports project”, detailed the club in the issued statement. So far he has played 18 games, with five starts and one goal. And it was last day, in the victory against Villarreal, when Martínez showed the type of footballer that he is.
The open match began and he could not show off his football. He suffered, along with Nacho Vidal, the continuous arrivals of Estupiñán. However, with the scheme change, he went on to play in the middle of the field and then he excelled with the ball and was decisive in the only goal of the match.
Lucas Torró stole the ball in midfield, Javi Martínez recovered it, turned around and faced the goal, timing the times perfectly. He waited patiently to release the ball without burning his feet as he advanced towards the area, raising his head and visualizing the position of his teammates. Rubén García sprinted next to him and the youth squad released it at the right moment and into spacefor the Valencian to pick it up, place it in two touches and center in search of Chimy’s head, which did not fail without opposition.
It was an action that defines what Javi can provide to an accelerated vertical Osasuna. He is a player who knows how to control space-time and, without losing the rhythm of the game, pause it and make sense of the team’s plays. And to that technical capacity and vision of the game is added a physique that allows him to carry air to the final minutes. He also showed himself against Villarreal: in the first half he didn’t stop running and in the second he didn’t lose his freshness when he touched the ball.
The midfielder made his debut against Córdoba in 2019 and since the 2017-2018 season he has combined the first team with the reserve team, where he stood out day after day. The renewal a few months ago means for him “end the training process. Now, at 22 years old and having been decisive in several games in the First Division, Javi Martínez knocks loudly on the door of a Jagoba Arrasate team that, for the moment, continues to offer him minutes little by little.