In recent years, there has been uncertainty surrounding the goalkeeping position at Arsenal. Ever since Jens Lehman left the club, Almunia has failed to fill the gap he left between the sticks. Whilst a good keeper, high profile errors have cost Arsenal dear. Furthermore, it is likely that this summer will see the departure of the Spaniard. Last season saw the emergence of Szczesny and Fabianski. The former has now become a fan favourite and is probably the most likely person to fill the number one shirt next season.

But what of Lukasz?

Despite a rather nervous start to his Arsenal career, Fabianski has matured and last season was enjoying a good spell in goal before a season ending shoulder injury meant that our other Polish keeper (Szczesny) was given a chance. Fabianski has come out with these comments;

“That is my aim and I will do everything that I can to be the No 1.

“In my shoulder and in myself, I am feeling stronger than I was before.

“I am very happy that I am finally fit and I could play a part of the game against Cologne. I am pleased with my fitness level and hopefully it will keep improving.

“Hopefully nothing will come up in the next few weeks and I will be ready for the competition that we have.”

Let’s not forget Vito

Two seasons ago, Manonne had a run in the team and managed to make a name for himself. At the time, he was considered to be our number 3 keeper. It was at this time that our keeper problems seemed most poignant, with mant, often comedic, errors from Almunia and Fabianski. For a time, Manonne was a breath of fresh air. However, since 2009, we have not heard much of him. He is most likely probably still our number 3 keeper, and it does not look like he has developed very much. Perhaps he will prove that he can fight for the number one shirt, but at the moment, I would argue that it is pretty much a two horse race between our Poles.

So who should it be?

Whilst Fabianski is a great shot stopper, my worry is that he is still weak when it comes to decision making. Only time will tell, but for now, I cant quite manage to bury the memories of his catastrophic game against Porto two seasons ago in the champions league.

I feel that Szczesny commands more respect and his sheer presence in goal inspires more confidence in our defence. Arsenal have been known to have a rather leaky defence in recent years, which has cost us dear. We never seem to have too many problems scoring goals. Our problems come when we cannot stop our opponents scoring. Furthermore, it has often been noted that Arsenal are a rather short team full of technically able, but rather weak players. At 1.95 metres, Szczesny’s aerial dominance is clearly evident. With Szczesny in goal, there seems to be less tension surrounding our defending from set plays. His ability to take the ball from the air with ease is something that Arsenal have been lacking.

Who do you think should be the new Arsneal number one?

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