With the imminent departure of Łukasz Fabiański to Swansea, Arsenal are once again searching for another goalkeeper to accompany Wojciech Szczęsny. Arguably the keeper of the season David Marshall has been rumored to be interested in a move to the Gunners, after Cardiff’s relegation at the end of last season.On 5 February 2014, however Marshall signed a new contract keeping him at Cardiff City until 2018. In the wake of this new contract the reported transfer figure of £15 million has been touted. It has been branded ludicrous by many Arsenal fans but is he worth this amount of money and should Arsenal pay it?
Does Marshall constitute the £15 million pound price tag? Having joined Cardiff from Norwich in 2009, Marshall particularly impressed last season making a serious of seemingly impossible saves possible. Not only was he undoubtedly Cardiff’s player of the season but on 21 April 2014, Marshall was named in Sky Sports’ Premier League Team of the season. Also at the tender age of 29 Marshall has a wealth of experience playing for the likes of Celtic, Norwich and now Cardiff. He is starting to peak but has at least a good 7 years left at the top level. £15 million is however a large sum of money to be paying for an arguably second choice goalkeeper and I feel that it would be better spent on other areas of the team.
Wojciech Szczęsny has remained at a very consistent level of performance throughout the season and has done nothing to warrant being dropped by Arsene Wenger. At the young age of 24 he is continually growing in stature and looks increasingly likely to go on to be one of the world’s best. The big fee associated with Marshall could bring the confidence of Szczęsny down however I believe that competition for places would only increase the performance levels. Additionally the experience of Marshall would also benefit Szczęsny who has in the past been slightly rash in his decision making.
There are a plethora of other options. Julian Speroni has had an excellent season at Crystal Palace only just being beaten to getting in the Premiership team of the year by Marshall. At the age of 34 he has vast experience and would be happy to get out while he can after the signing of Wayne Hennessey in January. Arsenal have also always been interested in Swansea’s Vorm. Having adopted a similar philosophy to Arsenal, Swansea’s keeper is expected to be good with his feet as they often look to play out from the back. With this in mind he would fit perfectly into Arsenal and Szczęsny would no doubt profit from his Premier League experience. He may also prove a costly expense considering his age and the fact that he is the undisputed number one choice at Swansea. There were rumors in the past about the possibility of Iker Casillas being available but since the arrival of Carlo Ancelotti it looks less and less likely.
There is no doubt that Marshall is a good keeper and would be a welcome addition to the Arsenal team. I do think that with him signing a long contract recently at Cardiff and with the craziness of the owner Vincent Tan Cardiff would be looking at an extortionate price for Marshall. If Arsenal were be able to bring the price down then they should act swiftly and bring in what could prove to be a very astute signing.