Manuel Almunia hints at possible exit from Arsenal
Arsenal goalkeeper Manuel Almunia has hinted at his exit from the club with strong reports linking Arsenal with some top shot stoppers.
Almunia started Arsenal's first game against Liverpool but there are reports all over the media at the moment linking the club with a move for Mark Schwarzer at Fulham and Shay Given at Manchester City.
It has been well publicised that Arsenal need a new goalkeeper and Almunia has made it no secret that he wants to move on after it has emerged that he will probably not be the number one goalkeeper at the club this season.
Almunia has many qualities and could still do a very good job for a top-flight club in any country. However, Arsenal need to push and contend for trophies and they will not do this until they have a better goalkeeper between the posts.
Almunia's qualities
Almunia is a very experienced goalkeeper who has a much greater knowledge of the game than many people will think. He's played 102 times for Arsenal, which is a statistic that may surprise a lot of people.
This has allowed him to develop how he reads the game in front of him. His vocal and leadership skills have increased and this allows him to organise the defence and tell players when they leave gaps after falling out of position.
Almunia is actually a very good shot stopper. He gets a lot of bad press because of the way Arsenal have played over the last two or three years but he does the basics very well and keeps the majority of shots aimed at him out of the goal.
He said: "To be honest, it is so difficult to concentrate because Arsenal is a big club and speculation is always in the news and everywhere - If somebody comes in, I will have to talk about my future at Arsenal. That is it. I cannot talk now, because the talking would be for nothing. I have to work and if one day I am not good for Arsenal, I will talk. That is no problem. I am very happy here."
Moving on
Arsenal are a side that are looking to get back to the glory days of a few years ago when they completely dominated the Premier League. To do this they need a goalkeeper who can save them five, six or seven crucial goals over the course of the season.
Almunia, despite being a solid netminder, is not the goalkeeper who will do this. If Arsenal sign a big name to play in goal then they can build the team from the back. They are very good in attack but defensively there are still big improvements needed to the team.
Almunia added: "The only news I have is from third parties - people at the training ground. When I go out and when I come back from training, I switch off. I don't see anything else outside of Arsenal. It will be very difficult to play for another team in England if it wasn't Arsenal. Spain would also be difficult."
Betting advice
There are a lot of people who would have had no idea whether to back Arsenal this season or not. Wait to see if they get a good goalkeeper in because if they do then their chances of success will be slightly greater than they were before.
Arsenal will still be a very good bet in any form of the game. However, a really great goalkeeper will be the difference in the bigger Premier League and Champions League games. Keep this in mind when you are betting in the side one or two months down the line this season.
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