Why Fabianksi is our No.1

by MIKE HARVEY Since Jens Lehmann left the club in 2008, we’ve seen our club experience an goalkeeping problem, that at one point, seemed would never end.

First we saw Manuel Almunia have a generally satisfactory few seasons in between the posts. But we’ve seen him make a number of costly errors during his time in goal – mostly due to his nervousness in big games (which he’s admitted if you don’t already know).

We then saw Lukasz Fabianski step up, who like Almunia, did relatively well but we saw too many mistakes from him – most notably, his lack of confidence when dealing with crosses. His actions in Porto weren’t too convincing either!

He was soon replaced by the promising Vito Mannone, who did arguably well during his time in goal but he failed to show a good level of consistent performances. Since then, he has been loaned to Hull City where very few Arsenal fans follow his progress, which is a big shame since we all had high hopes for Vito when he introduced himself on the big stage – although his time in the shadows could be over soon, as at the moment, he returns to The Arsenal on January 3rd… Whether he will remain with us is a another issue.

And lastly, we’ve seen Wojciech Scezney have a go. Although his time in goal has been fairly brief, he has shown a number of classy saves, while also showing he is a very, very confident lad – which is something that we’ve been looking for since Jens Lehmann departed 2 years ago. His 6 ft.5 stature is a very useful asset to have too.

I stated that Fabianski struggled to deal with crosses. But to be fair to him, he’s improved as a player since we first came into the first team. He seems to have grown in confidence, and has proved himself to the majority of Arsenal fans – especially his presence when defending corners. I never thought I would say this about Lukasz, but I feel confident when I see him in the starting eleven.

After all that, who should be our number one? Assuming that Almunia is out of the picture now (I might be being a tad harsh there), and Vito – if he stays – will be very limited to first team action, we have a choice of the two Polish goalkeepers.
 
Currently, Scezney has shown he has what it takes to play in the first team. His short time in goal has been impressive to say the least.
But does Scezney deserve to be starting for the first team now, after such a short time in goal?
 
Of course it would be harsh on Fabianski, but I accept that it’s tempting to say that Wenger should prioritize Scezney, as it seems that he could be a big, big part of our future. It’s a very hard decision. Luckily, one I dont have to make!

However, I feel Fabianski should remain as our first choice goalkeeper, while Scezney should be patient, and continue to play in the Carling Cup. For such a promising goalkeeper, he has to get game time in one way or another. Which suggests that we could see him go on loan again – but that topic can wait for another time.

I don’t think Wenger will rush Scezney in just yet, but I feel he’ll get his chance the next time Fabianski makes a high-profile mistake – or alternatively, gets injured. It’s been hard to come down with this conclusion, but in reality, it’s a incredibly hard decision, which will leave one of the two completely let down.
 
Do we let our latest promising youngster come in and take over, suggesting to Fabianski that he is unwanted? Or continue with Fabianski as our number one, resulting in a unsettled youngster who needs games, that could easily take his business elsewhere.

I’m sure some of you feel we should buy another goalkeeper, but I have avoided such discussion as Wenger has made it clear that this is never going to happen.

Mike Harvey

I'm 20 and have been an Arsenal season ticket holder since 2006. My family has had Arsenal links since the 1920's, and the support is still going strong. I am at every home game, and also manage to get to multiple away games, when I can. I have been writing for various blogs and websites since I was 15, but have now settled down and have become a regular writer for Arsenalinsider. I also run my own Pro Evolution Soccer blog, Only Pro Evolutions. Arsenal is my passion. Writing is my passion. I was never good enough to play for The Arsenal, so I'll do the next best thing!

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