Arsenal’s backup goalkeeper situation has been a recurring problem for years.
Since Mikel Arteta arrived, the club’s goalkeeping recruitment outside of David Raya has been, to put it generously, inconsistent.
Everyone was sceptical about Aaron Ramsdale, who was brought in as first choice, but he turned out to be a good signing.
Arsenal got a decent return from him and he was let go at the right time, displaced by Raya, which was its own controversy at the time.
But beyond Ramsdale and Raya, the history is poor. Runar Alex Runarsson joined in 2020 and was arguably the worst goalkeeper to pull on an Arsenal shirt in living memory.
Arsenal fans…if David Raya isn’t Arsenal’s best Premier League goalkeeper ever, then who is?
Mat Ryan, Matt Turner and Neto followed, each offering varying degrees of adequacy without ever providing genuine competition or long-term security.
Ryan was decent and probably the best of the lot, Turner was poor, and Neto couldn’t even play in the cups due to being cup-tied.
Last summer, Kepa Arrizabalaga joined from Chelsea for £5million — a low-cost solution that has been fine without ever being convincing,
He did, however, make a costly error in the Carabao Cup final defeat to Manchester City.
Now with Kepa’s future uncertain amid interest from Serie A, Arsenal are reportedly in the market for a replacement.
Arsenal are keeping tabs on Illan Meslier
According to Sky Sports transfer reporter Luca Bendoni, corroborated by reliable club insider Hand of Arsenal, the Gunners have made enquiries about Illan Meslier as a potential replacement for Kepa should he leave this summer.
Meslier is 26 and out of contract at Leeds. On the surface, the profile makes some sense — free transfer, Premier League experience, still relatively young.
He looked like a genuine talent five or six years ago. But the reality is, since then, he has arguably regressed and looks far from the level Arsenal need.
Last season at Leeds, he was their third-choice goalkeeper behind Karl Darlow and Lucas Perri, and did not play a single game.
He is left-footed, not particularly technical, and has struggled even in his natural role as a traditional goalkeeper in recent years.
That is the complete opposite of what they should be looking for as a backup to Raya.
Arsenal’s goalkeeping recruitment has to be better than this
The ideal solution for Arsenal is a long-term successor to Raya, rather than another stop-gap backup.
Someone who can start cup games meaningfully, push Raya for his place, and step in convincingly if the Spaniard gets injured.
It seemed Arteta was heading that direction last summer, when Arsenal were strongly linked with Joan Garcia before he joined Barcelona.
Who is the better goalkeeper right now – Joan Garcia or David Raya?
He would have cost around €25million but provided genuine quality and competition. Instead, Andrea Berta signed Kepa.
It’s okay to prioritise cost over quality in the backup goalkeeping position once, or twice, but now Arsenal need to address it properly, before it costs them.
Goalkeeping coach Inaki Cana is hugely influential in the club’s goalkeeper recruitment, and recommended both Raya and Runarsson. The gap in quality between those two recommendations is extraordinary.
Given their track record, it is something of a miracle that Arsenal have ended up with Raya, undoubtedly one of the best goalkeepers in the world.
If Kepa leaves, they cannot afford to replace him with someone who couldn’t even make the Leeds bench.
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