Fabianski errors highlight Arsenal’s goalkeeping problems

Arsene Wenger may have chosen to hold the referee culpable, but for anybody else watching Arsenal’s 2-1 defeat to Porto last night, it was pretty obvious that there was only one man Wenger’s finger of blame needed to be directed at: Lukasz Fabianski. The Polish goalkeeper had a night to forget and may find his Arsenal career curtailed very shortly. 

However, Fabianski is only part of the problem. Much like Manchester United struggled to fill the goalkeeping void after the departure of Peter Schmeichel, Arsenal have found it difficult to find a consistent No.1 following the retirement of David Seaman. The situation at United has stabilised since the arrival of Edwin Van Der Sar, but the same can not be said of Arsenal’s predicament.

In spite of being part of ‘The Invincibles’ side that won the Premier League undefeated in his first season, Jens Lehmann was never really convincing as the long term replacement for Seaman. The German’s form went from the sublime (breaking the clean sheet record for Arsenal in the Champions League in the 2005-2006 season) to the ridiculous (being sent off in the 18th minute of that season’s Champions League final).

His departure in 2008 paved the way for Manuel Almunia to claim the No. 1 jersey as his own. However, despite some patches of good form, the Spaniard has also proved to be disconcertingly inconsistent, losing his starting place for periods to Fabianski and Vito Mannone. The consensus seems to be that none of them are the answer.

However, it is fair to say that Almunia and Mannone have more of a future at the club than Fabianski. His blunders last night, added to those in last season’s FA Cup semi-final, would appear to suggest that he is not cut out for the big games (or not yet at least). Wenger is a tolerant manager, but Fabianski may have stretched his patience too far on this occasion.

What has become clear is the need for Wenger to spend some money this summer on an established goalkeeper to plug the gaping hole in his defence. His current options are workarounds which have come at little financial cost to him. However, if he is serious about Arsenal competing for the big prizes, this is an issue he needs to address quickly.

February 18, 2010