Arsène Wenger got his man. It’s been a rough decade, but Jens Lehmann’s true successor has finally arrived in Petr Cech, and the options in goal at the club have arguably never been better.
With two keepers more experienced than Wojciech Szczesny, Wenger can afford to play the long game with his prized Pole.
Despite links to Turkey and Merseyside, I think David Ospina would be of better use to Arsenal as a backup to Cech, with Szczesny seeing time away on loan.
Look no further than Thibaut Courtois as an example of what can be achieved with Szczesny; the world’s best young keeper spent three seasons on loan at Atletico Madrid before rejoining Chelsea to massive fanfare, forcing Cech to the bench in the process.
Given Ospina’s fee relative to his talent, it doesn’t make much sense to sell him on, even if it’s for a profit on the meager £3.5m we paid. For less than £15m Wenger has formed a tandem of the correct ages for their respective roles.
At 26, Ospina still has time on his side to learn form a keeper he openly admires, and play for a top European team with title ambitions. Cech is still in his prime – such is the longevity of a goalkeeper – and as such has moved to a team capable of bringing him similar success as Chelsea did.
As for Szczesny, all hope is not lost. He’s a talented keeper who has attracted the interest of top clubs before; even as a fledgling senior back in 2011, Barcelona were keen on the raw talent Szczesny represents; it wouldn’t be unreasonable to think other teams would be willing to take him on.
It seems young keepers of his potential aren’t exactly a dime a dozen unless you frequent Deutschland: a club of note will move for Szczesny if he’s made available.
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Arsène Wenger has some thinking to do, and it’s clear he hasn’t made his mind up yet. Ospina has been linked away for weeks, and Cech was confirmed a Gunner the better part of two weeks ago. We’ll most likely have to wait until the beginning of the new Premier League season, but a part of me doubts it will or should be Ospina’s name on the departure list.