Football Special Report: The Best Goalkeepers in Arsenal’s history (Part 4)
Article continued from Part 3.
James Ashcroft’s first year with Arsenal was rather mediocre, but after a year, he managed to bring in the might. He kept seventeen clean sheets in the next seasons and in this process, six of the matches went in a row when he did not even let a single ball
in.
He made a record for the club that only came close to what Alex Manninger did around ninety years later after of Ashcroft. Still in spite of this player’s amazing performances, the Gunners finished in the fourth spot in the second division and closely missed
the promotion into the first division.
Ashcroft was not content with his record and kept on working to break new barriers and keep his fans at the edge of their seats.
In the 1903-04 season, this goalie kept another twenty clean sheets and only let in twenty two goals in thirty four games.
This gave the team the boost and the inspiration to climb into the first division and then he made another record and appeared in a hundred and fifty four consecutive appearances for Arsenal.
His talents of immense magnitude did not go unnoticed on the international level as he was made a permanent part of the national team in 1906.
He played three games for the English national team, he appeared in two FA cup semi finals and his contributions in taking Arsenal to the first division has set his legacy as one of the biggest Gunners giants of all time.
Jens Lehmann, 2003-08
Jens Lehmann is a player that was brought into the Gunners ranks by Arsene Wenger in 2003 to serve as a replacement for David Seaman.
He is a great player but had a dark side to him. He replaced Oliver Kahn in the German national team.
He was considered by most as a very non serious player and an entertainer on the field, he always used to have a callous expression on his face and this hid the real intentions and mind of his.
Jens Lehman was the type of player that would always rush to conquer the threat in his box and would more often than not succeed in terminating the attack.
Lehman was known for using a lot of foul language and in that process, he got numerous yellow cards for this.
He only got a red card once but that was not because of messing around, his most notable move was when he actually went at the back of the field to ‘pee.’
With all the fans and the millions of viewers tuning in from all over, this player went off the field in the middle of the match to ‘do his business’ with keeping an eye on the match, so he could dash back if needed!
His swift dashes towards the ball would either result in him making heroic saves and some times, it would result in leaving the span free for a score with no man there to block the attacker.
With the inclusion of his craziness and obsession with the game, Lehman always was a man of very colourful characteristics.
This player also had a very bright side to him, as he was an amazing shot stopper, he was brave and any good coach or football pundit will agree with this that you need guts to be a player that stands out and breaks records.
Article Continued in Part 5.
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