Wojciech Szczesny
In season’s past
our goalkeeper’s have cost us points in the league. In the days when Manuel
Almunia and a young Fabianski were mainstays, errors that usually lead to goals
were common and costly to our title hopes.
How refreshing it is therefore to
finally have a keeper who is reliable and a cohesive part of a solid defensive
unit. I think it is fair to say Wojciech has had his best season thus far in an
Arsenal shirt.
He is a player that clearly loves the club, an all-round Gooner
to add to Wilshere, Ramsey and the like. He has been a mainstay in our side in
the league, missing no games, while making a number of incredible saves. As
many will remember from our last cup final, against Birmingham in 2011, he was
prone to mistakes and with the exception of his almost costly error against
Spurs we can’t remember the Pole doing anything untoward.
His concentration levels
are always exceptional, as evidenced by his ability to go long periods of the
game without being called upon, only to make a world-class save when the need
arises, think Manchester United at the Emirates. His ability to keep focussed
in all games this season has been exemplary.
There is clearly still room for
improvement, as his distribution is not the best, but I think he has shown this
season why Wenger has refused to sign any big name keepers in recent years. At
23 years old, if he continues on this season’s trajectory, he will be our
number 1 for many, many years to come.
Rating 9/10
Lukasz Fabianski
Many are saying
Fabianki’s performances this season have been down to his desire to sign a
lucrative contract at a good club this summer. At the moment his forms suggest
he will do just that.
This season Fabianski has shaken off the nicknames that
haunted him in seasons past. Known for so long as ‘Flappyhandski’, due to his
unimposing presence in the box when defending set pieces, this season he has come
into his own whenever called upon.
At the beginning of the season the idea of
getting him off our books this summer made most Arsenal fans happy, “Another
deadwood player off our wage bill to be replaced by a promising keeper” was
commonly heard in conversations between the Arsenal faithful. This season he
has shown us exactly why Wenger wants to keep him at the club. Whenever called
upon he has done a fantastic job, pushing Szczesny all the way for his No. 1
spot.
His penalty save against Bayern Munich, leaving us with a very
respectable 1-1, perfectly sums up what he’s done this season. Against
Liverpool in the FA Cup he was one of our stand-out players, part of a
backs-to-the-wall defensive display after we took the lead. Unfortunately for
the same reasons we now want him to stay, it looks very likely he will leave
this summer. We at The Lovely Reds wish
him good luck for many years to come.
Rating 7/10
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