With David Ospina potentially moving on in January and Wojiech Szczesny’s career at the club all but over, the Gunners may be on the hunt for a new backup keeper to provide competition to Peter Cech.
It’s always a tough scouting mission to find a good second choice keeper. You have to get the fine line right between having a keeper good enough to come in for a red card or injury and someone prepared to sit on the bench behind Peter Cech and provide competition.
We already have good young prospects in Deyan Iliev, Matt Macey, and Emiliano Martinez on loan at Wolves, so Jonathan Kaney has taken a look at some experienced keepers who have themselves in the Premier League and would be happy to fight with Cech for a first team spot.
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David Marshall
The 30-year-old Scotland international has been linked with Gunners a few times over the years and after Cardiff’s relegation is thought to want to make a return to the Premier League.
He was linked with a £5m move to West Brom over the summer before they eventually signed former United bench warmer Anders Lindegaard.
With plenty experience under his belt, Marshall is a solid Premier League keeper and would be a good backup for Cech. It would be tough for him to turn down the opportunity of joining an elite club and potential silverware, despite being behind Cech in the pecking order.
Victor Valdes
Trophy-laden Barcelona legend Victor Valdes has had a torrid time at Man United after falling foul of Louis Van Gaal’s strict regime. He’s been forced to train with the reserves and has been treated pretty disgracefully for a player of his quality and standing in the game.
He’s almost fallen off the radar as an elite keeper. However, he would be a good backup for Cech if he can regain his confidence. With plenty of Spaniards in the Gunners squad, a move for Valdes makes a lot of sense as his quality and experience would bring a lot to the squad.
After a bad injury and in a rough time in his stellar career, he would most likely be happy enough to take a back seat role at the Gunners.
Adrian
West Ham keeper Adrian been an excellent performer in England since his arrival from Betis a couple of years ago and is one of the most underrated keepers in the Premier League.
He’s made some crucial saves to keep West Ham battling away in mid-table and is always prone to a Hollywood fingertip save.
At 28 he is a good age, a good shot stopper and with great agility Adrian would be a good shout for the Gunners as a backup for Cech.
Allan McGregor
Hull City keeper Allan McGregor is another name that his been linked with Arsenal before we signed Ospina. He has a good reputation in England after his time in the Premier League and has made plenty of important saves for Hull over the years.
At 33, the commanding Scot has plenty of experience of playing in tough atmospheres at the top level with Scotland, Rangers and Hull, McGregor would be a steady backup for Peter Cech.
Salvatore Sirigu
The Italian shot-stopper was a stalwart in the PSG side for years, however, lost his place to highly rated German Kevin Trapp in the PSG first team.
He was vocal in the media with the fact he was less than happy with being displaced by the German in the summer and PSG have told him he can leave if anyone comes in for him.
Sirigu is a very good goalkeeper, and would be more than capable of filling in for Cech when required. With his situation at PSG toxic, the 28-year-old he may well jump at the chance to move to the Premier League with us.