There’s been a lot of talk about Arsenal’s need to sign a striker over the last few months, but it’s also worth noting that they need cover in another, slightly less glamorous position. I’m sure Arsene Wenger will dedicate some time to finding a new second-choice keeper this summer.
The leaps and bounds that Wojciech Szczesny has made this year have been remarkable. Whilst he played no part in The Gunners’ FA Cup victory, he played a key role in Arsenal managing to stay at the top of the Premier League table longer than any other side last year.
He’s an amazing shot-stopper with cat-like reflexes and palms strong enough to stop bullets. He’s also becoming more and more commanding of his area and is slowly cutting errors from his game. This year, he’s been pretty much mistake-free which is a sign of his increasing maturity.
But with both Lukasz Fabianski and Emiliano Viviano set to leave the club this summer, The Gunners will be desperately short of other goalkeeping options.
It’ll be interesting to see how Arsene Wenger looks to solve this particular issue. Will he bring in a young talent who is clearly destined to play second-fiddle to Wojciech Szczesny, or will he sign some serious competition?
According to The Metro, he’s selecting the latter option. The source claims that Arsenal are ‘ready to open talks’ with Stoke City regarding their goalkeeper, Asmir Begovic.
Given that Begovic is 26-years-old and has made 136 appearances for Stoke City (often collecting rave reviews), it’s clear that he wouldn’t be moving to The Emirates with the aim of warming the bench. He’d want to push Szczesny all the way.
Whilst certain other Premier League keepers have had a good season and then gone off the boil (Michel Vorm springs to mind), Asmir Begovic has remained consistent. The Metro suggest that he could be available for as little as £8m, which strikes me as a bargain.
Finding a good keeper isn’t an easy task, but Begovic certainly looks like a good option that wouldn’t break the bank. Let’s hope that Arsene Wenger can close this deal quickly so he can concentrate on signing a striker!
What’s your take? Should The Gunners make a move for this Stoke City shot-stopper?
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