Squad Profile: Goalkeepers

Time to look at the current Arsenal squad. With the summer transfer window now slammed shut, we've got to deal with the squad we've got. Let's first look at the goalkeepers we've got in the squad and give them an overall rating like one you might find in a video game (though I hesitate to do this, some of our younger readers might find it interesting). The rating scale works thus:

0-29: Sunday league player
30-49: Non league or youth academy level
50-59: Plays at League One or Two level.
60-69: Growing prospect or ageing star close to retirement. Championship level.
70-79: Mid-to-Bottom table Premier League level. Good, solid, but not world-class.
80-89: Belongs at a big four club. Top quality player, very good.
90-99: Legendary. Only players who are, were, or could be one of the best players of all time in their position fall into this category. Examples include Pelé, Henry, C. Ronaldo, Baresi.


Manuel Almunia No. 1
OVR: 83
Analysis:
Opinions on our Spanish goalkeeper seem to be split. Some think he's a fine goalkeeper, some hate him. I myself kind of like him. Almunia is tall, agile, and has great reflexes. But he also has his faults. He's quick to race off his line and this has led to a few mistakes (e.g. Man U, November last year). I used to get nervous every time I knew Almunia was keeping but now I've sort of warmed to him. He doesn't command the same authority in the box that Mad Jens used to, but he's nonetheless a solid keeper. However, he's not quite world-class as perhaps we need with our shaky defense.



Lukasz Fabianski no. 21
OVR: 78
Analysis:
Fabianski arrived last summer and was at the time an unknown prospect. After some successful games in the League Cup last season, we saw him play the last few matches of our Premiership campaign. Fabianski has great reflexes, and is good at organising the defense, but looks unsure about arial balls. As of this season, Fabianski is second-choice behind Almunia. I have to admit, even with the games at the send of last year, I wasn't particularly excited about the young Pole being our no.2. However his performance in the Amsterdam Tournament vs. Sevilla was outstanding. If he can put in consistent performances at that level, he has a bright future ahead at Arsenal.


Vito Mannone no. 24
OVR: 65
Analysis:
Our young Italian third-choice keeper is a virtual unknown. He's put in some decent performances for the reserves and one or two solid games in preseason, but in those games he was rarely tested. Can't wait to see him in the League Cup, which I'm sure will be all we see of him this season. If he impresses there, I may start to get confident about him. Until then, however, he's one for the future. Remember, he's only 20, and keepers don't hit their prime until about 30, so I'm not worried.

Well then, those are our keepers. For a team like Arsenal's, our goalkeepers are vital. Wenger's teams aren't often known for good defenses, one look at last season's (as a collective team) proved that, so it's important to have the right man in goal. Wenger often manages to have at least one world-class keeper here, even when the reserves are less than stellar. Hopefully Almunia will develop into the top class keeper that we all hope he will become.