Since losing Lukas Fabianski to Swansea City on a four year deal, Arsene Wenger is looking for a replacement to compete against Wojciech Szczęsny. According to the Peruvian website Libero, Arsenal believe they can purchase David Ospina at a bargain price of 3 million pounds.
Szczesny developed through the Arsenal youth ranks. And after a two month loan to Brentford in the beginning of 2009/2010 season, Szczesny won our hearts (I mean his starting position) in 2010. Arsene Wenger speaks highly of his Polish keeper, believing he will be Arsenal’s number one for years to come. However, through his three years as a starter, Szczesny has not been all perfect. He has had questionable games in big matches—such as the Football League Cup final against Birmingham City in 2011.
In the 2013/2014 season, the Polish international proved his worth as the number one keeper. After a spectacular season from Szczesny, Fabianski failed to win a starting role and decided to look elsewhere for an opportunity. Now the number two role is available, and it looks as if the Colombian international will be filling that role.
After the enormous display in Brazil, I would rate Ospina a 7 out of 10 in terms of improving the squad. Ospina kept the Colombian national team alive up until the last minute against Brazil in the quarter-finals of the 2014 World Cup. His reflexes and leadership to command the box will give confidence to any team Ospina defends for. Bringing Ospina to London will revive competition for Szczesny, pushing the Polish keeper to perform at the highest level. The last thing Arsenal fans want to see is another change of goalkeeper. Can we just have one we can trust?
Above all his qualities, Ospina was not given an extension by OCG Nice in the Ligue 1. Therefore, the Colombian keeper and English club can benefit from the purchase. The Libero website is not well known in these parts of the world, so we cannot be too sure on how much we can trust the rumor. Adding the need of a second keeper and Wenger’s popularity with low priced players, this rumor must not be ignored. I rate the rumor strength a 6 out of 10 with a 70% chance of occurring.
If Arsenal manage to beat another club to the Colombian keeper, we can be sure Wenger will give Ospina some playing time in competitions such as the Capital One Cup. Wenger completed the signing of Alexis Sanchez yesterday; maybe he can continue pleasing the fans with another international star.
