Flappy Fabianski in contention as Arsenal number one yet again?
Arsenal has long been noted for struggling in the goalkeeping department since the departure of Jens Lehman.
Manuel Almunia has proven time and time again precisely how important it is for a title contending team to have a pair of safe hands in front of the sticks. The Spanish born keeper has been subject to a lot of criticism – his technical
ability not in accordance to Arsenal’s aspirations in domestic and international competitions.
Lukasz Fabainski came to Arsenal fresh from the Polish league. The shot stopper promised a lot as he did remarkably well in his division for his age. “He won the Polish League at Legia in 2006, was voted the best keeper in the
‘Ekstraklasa' two years running and has played international football as well” – According to the official Arsenal website player tab. The keeper was instated as first choice in the Carling Cup clashes and was second choice overall last season.
Despite pulling off a couple of eye catching stops – the save against Wigan in the Carling Cup in the year 2008 was unanimously voted as one of the best Arsenal saves of all time - the youngster had been subject to a lot of criticism
due to both his physique and mental ability. Football pundits believed that the twenty five year old was relatively ‘short’ to be a short stopper and lacked the decision making ability vital for a quality shot stopper at the top level. The player was also
branded with the title ‘Flappyhandski’ as tribute to the costly errors at the gloves of the young goalie.
However, taking under consideration the champions league tie against Partizan Belgrade, Fabianski did a decent job. The Arsenal Manager ruled out Manuel Almunia earlier on account of an ‘elbow injury.’
“He has a problem with his elbow. He caught it when he made the penalty on Saturday,” commented Arsene Wenger.
The timing of the injury seems rather curious. Almunia started the game brightly. After taking out a West Bromwich Albion player in the box and collecting a yellow card in the process, the Spaniard redeemed himself by saving the
subsequent penalty. However, it took some skill on part of the Arsenal number one to collect the award for ‘performance in a negative role’ at the end of the 90 minutes. While it is hard to point many fingers based on the nature of the first West Brom goal,
the fashion of the two other goals had to jury out once again. The first of the two rebounded of Almunia’s left knee and tucked inside his near post while the away team’s second of the two was down to foolishly coming forward and being left in no man’s land.
Consequently, the resultant empty net made it far less of a challenge for the West Brom player to score.
Whether news that the current number was actually ill or it was a scheme by the Frenchman to give the number two another shot at gaining goal keeping supremacy at the Emirates was hard to tell. Fabianski on the other hand took
the opportunity with both hands as he did remarkably well in the latter stages of the game despite not having to do much for the overall length of the match. Gibbs’ foul drew out a penalty for the Serbian side and it required a fine save from the Polish keeper
who judged the direction and height of the strike when he dived low to his right. Fabianski made another reflex save from close range after parrying the ball whiskers away from his far post.
While Fabianski’s contribution on the night was commendable, it would still be rather naïve to assume that Wenger has finally found a suitable number to stand in front of the sticks and guide Arsenal to what potentially could be
their fourth title in the Premier League. The one hit wonders have been too frequent to fool any Arsenal well wishers, and it is doubtful that either keepers could ever forgo their patchy habits and be able to stay tall, stay solid and most importantly, stay
ever present for the stint of the 38 game season.
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