Arsene Wenger won’t risk playing Jens Lehmann ahead of error-prone Manuel Almunia when the Gunners face Blackburn Rovers at the Emirates on Saturday. That’s according to former Arsenal keeper John Lukic, who says he thinks AW will stick with the Spaniard over the 41-year-old German.
Lehmann is set to make his Arsenal comeback in a reserve game at Wigan on Tuesday but it is to get his fitness back in case of injury to Almunia and not to replace him, says Lukic. Lehmann rejoined the club earlier this month after a goalkeeping injury crisis left us without the services of Wojciech Szczesny and Lukasz Fabianski.
>Lukic, the oldest Arsenal player to appear in a Premier League game at 39 years and 336 days old when he played against Derby in November 2000, said: “The pros are simple. Jens was a very good goalie. He has a wealth of experience and won a load of trophies. He also has a big personality that might perhaps be needed in the dressing room for the run-in to the season.
“The cons are that to be a top-level goalie you have to be training every day, seeing balls travelling at high speed and keeping your hands and eyes sharp. And it’s also about being up to speed with your decision-making.If you need time to think, decide, then act or it’ll be too late. The ball will be in your net.
“Picking Jens for a Premier League game would be a massive risk. Imagine a goalie who’s been sidelined for eight months with injury. Would you pick him after one comeback game in the reserves? I think not. Jens is almost 42, he hasn’t played for eight months.
“I really don’t know how he can be expected to step straight back in – and especially at the business end of the season. Arsenal have just eight League games left, including crucial showdowns with Manchester United and Tottenham. It’s a huge ask to expect Jens to step in now.
“I’d stick with Almunia. Remind him of how well he played after coming on as a substitute at the Nou Camp and tell him he’s in a tough school but can come good again. He dropped a clanger at West Brom. He’s got to pick himself up and get on with life. It just goes to show that Mark Schwarzer would have been a great signing for Arsenal from Fulham last summer. Schwarzer would have kept things ticking over, and he would have paved the way for Szczesny to eventually make his way into the team.”
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