Age: 26
Nationality: Colombian
Position: Goalkeeper
Squad no. 13
Height: 6ft
Interesting Fact: Ospina is brother-in-law to fellow Colombian James Rodríguez, who married his sister Daniela in 2011.
Ospina began his career with Atletico Nacional, where he made 97 appearances in total. In his native country he was touted to be the future No.1 of the national side and high expectations were pinned upon him. in 2008, after many top European sides had scouted him, he joined Nice after they met his release clause. Renowned for his athleticism and agility across goal, Ospina really developed as a keeper in the South of France and after 189 appearances he decided the time was right to move on. After an impressive World Cup, where the 6ft stopper helped his side reached the quarter-finals Ospina moved to the Gunners in a £3 million deal.
How much will he play?
This all depends on the form of Wojciech Szczesny. Ospina is experienced and a top quality professional so he won’t be happy sitting on the bench. Currently though, Szczesny is the undisputed number one at the club and to start off with Ospina will have to be content with playing in the cup matches. Should Szczesny make a couple of errors in the Premiership though, I would expect Ospina to come in, much like we saw with the Joe Hart and Costil Pantilimon situation at Man.City last year. Competition in the side is important, and will only improve each and every individual who is vying for a place in the starting-line up.
How well will he do?
On the whole he should do very well. He has vast experience at club and international level and was one of the stand-out performers in his position at the World Cup. The Colombian has excellent agility and is able to get across his goal very quickly to make sprawling, diving saves. His handling is also very good, and he should have no problem collecting crosses or saving shots, though at 6ft he could be vulnerable from corners and free-kicks. On the whole Arsenal have bought themselves a very handy keeper, Ospina’s shot-stopping ability will probably be one of the best in the division and with his excellent reflexes it should be difficult for the opposition to score against him directly from open-play. Like I said before though, there are some doubts about his physicality and he could potentially struggle from set-pieces.
Read: Report cards for the whole Arsenal squad
Shot-stopping: 9/10
Kicking: 6/10
Distribution: 7/10
Handling: 8/10
Reflexes: 9/10
Penalty saving: 6/10
Read: Wojciech Szczesny – report card
Read: Damian Martinez – report card
Current value: £3 million
Potential value: £10 million
Overall rating: 8/10