Football Breaking News: Arsenal prepare bid for Middlesbrough Shot-stopper Jason Steele
Arsenal FC are reported to be on the verge of putting in an official bid for Middlesbrough shot-stopper Jason Steele as the January transfer window looms near.
The Middlesbrough goalkeeper, fresh off the block at age 20 seems to be just ripe to fit the Arsenal youth criteria. In his relatively short career, he has been a regular member of the Middlesbrough side and after a couple of impressive
displays on the field, has caught the eye of Arsene Wenger’s scouts. According to reports from the Daily Mail, the Arsenal manager is shaping up to make an official bid for the twenty-year-old.
Arsenal, a title challenging club, has been plagued with goalkeeping issues since the advent of Jens Lehman. His successor, Manuel Almunia has had his moments (being fair to the Spaniard) but has faltered on more than a couple
of occasions. While the number 1 jersey seems to be recovering from injury, it’s not a long-shot to assume that the injury is the least of his worries as he has been positively below standard for the Gunners this season.
Almunia’s presumed-to-be replacement, Lukasz Fabianski has had some promising moments since stepping up. However, just like his predecessor, he too suffers from the Arsenal goalkeeping syndrome of ‘patchy performance’. The Polish
International could arguably be blamed for his glaring error against Newcastle United at the Emirates; the resultant lapse of judgement or simple lack of footballing intelligence saw the Gunners losing yet again to a newly promoted side.
With Vito Mannone, Arsenal’s third-choice Italian keeper hinting of wanting to extend his loan spell at Hull City, another prospect for the Gunners is in the form of teenager Wojciech Szczesny. The youngster, also from Polish origin,
has been impressive in Arsenal reserve clashes. However, bringing him up to the big stage would be a touch premature and might end up doing more harm than good for the youngster.
Arsene Wenger needs a reliable shot-stopper that can step up a notch on the big stage consistently. He wants a presence that can be a deciding factor, like an Edwin van der Sar for Manchester United, a Pepe Reina for Liverpool,
a Petr Cech for Chelsea or a Joe Hart for Manchester City. Jason Steele could potentially be the answer to all that.
It seems to be a mutually beneficial deal as well. Middlesbrough, marred by financial difficulties, would ideally want the money while Arsenal could yet again benefit from a cheap buy. To the idealist, it seems like a match made
in heaven; however, Wenger has hardly been seen signing players in the January transfer window in his 14-year career at Arsenal. Whether the deal finally goes through or not is something that Arsenal fans usually like to refer to, ‘In Arsene, We trust.’
Tags: