Should Arsenal Sign A Goalkeeper This Summer?
Arsenal’s undisputed first choice goalkeeper is Petr Cech. The 35-year old custodian has been scintillating ever since that controversy-filled move from Chelsea. He was allowed to join Arsenal as a token of gesture for serving Stamford Bridge so well for over 11 years. His arrival at the club meant that Wojciech Szczesny was sent out on loan to Roma, whereas Colombian Davide Ospina was relegated to the bench for the majority of the 2 seasons that Cech has been at Arsenal.
With Cech not getting any younger, should Arsenal really look to invest in the goalkeeping department? Or did Ospina’s fine performance in the FA Cup final save his neck, at least for another season? Time and again the Colombian custodian has proven to be an able deputy to Master Cech.
Szczesny’s future at Arsenal has always been doubtful ever since he departed on loan. While that’s the case with every player who leaves on loan, this one is a different story altogether. As far as Ospina goes, he might just have bought himself an extra season at The Emirates. The Colombian arrived at Arsenal following recognition with the Colombian national team at the 2014 FIFA World Cup. At the time, he was plying his trade with French club OGC Nice. Following 6 years in France, Ospina opted to move to English shores, with Arsenal wanting him as their deputy choice between the sticks.
Although he earned several plaudits with his cup performances, Ospina has always been linked with a move away from the club due to not being the first choice custodian. Fenerbahce have been on his tail for quite some time now and could materialize their interest in him this summer, given that Szczesny could return to parent club Arsenal, pushing the Colombian further down the goalkeeping ladder at Arsenal.
Ospina recently spoke out on all the confusion surrounding his future at the club. “I haven’t made my decision yet,” he said, according to Sporx. “I am waiting for Arsenal to decide, I’m on holiday and it should all be sorted by the the time it is over. If Arsenal are not going to give me the playing time I want they can loan me to another club.”
It is clear that he is disgruntled about his position and role at the club and at the age of 28, having earned over 75 caps for his nation, he would be expecting to start games week in, week out. At Arsenal though, Wenger just can’t give him those assurances and Ospina would indeed be better off moving onto new pastures, at least on a temporary basis.
All that said and done, Wenger will need to act quickly if either one of Ospina or Szczesny departs the club. The signings of Rob Holding and Hector Bellerin show us that Arsene Wenger is still capable of nurturing young talent and he should go down the same route when he goes in search of a new goalkeeper, instead of spending the megabucks on an established custodian.