Arsenal Vs Manchester City: David Ospina Can Save His Soul

Petr Cech is set to miss Sunday’s hosting of Manchester City. Arsenal’s top-four grudge match offers David Ospina the perfect chance to save his soul.

When Arsene Wenger decided to end the torture that the goalkeeping position was causing him and Arsenal in the summer of 2015, he brought a new, annual issue upon himself: the age-old selection headache of deciphering many viable options.

Those viable options consisted of the newly acquired Petr Cech from Chelsea, the assumed starter given his experience, his price tag and his proven quality over a great number of years at the Blues; David Ospina, the Colombian shot-stopper who had been the natural starter before Cech’s arrival; and Wojciech Szczesny, the young talent who was yet to deliver on his enormous potential.

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Wenger was forced to allow one to leave, only on a temporary basis, to ensure that all could be given the necessary game time that their development required. It was Szczesny that departed, joining Roma on loan, after a long and drawn out summer of uncertainty and questioning. The next year, the same thorny problem again reared its ugly head and Szczesny was again sent out on loan with Roma once more his destination.

This season, Cech has been the entrenched starter in the league while Ospina has played in the majority of the domestic cup games and in Europe. While Cech has been his solid, reliable, dependable self, Ospina has showcased the same shortcomings that inspired Wenger to sign Cech initially.

While the Colombian is an excellent shot-stopper with great agility and cat-like reactions, he lacks the desired size, physicality and domineering presence that is required to excel in the English game. Moreover, he is mentally lacking, enjoying moments of utter madness where his rash decision making gets the better of him.

Cech, though is set to miss the coming month through an ailing calf injury suffered in the loss to West Brom, a game that Ospina came on for the Czech keeper and disappointed greatly, flapping at a number of crosses and spilling the ball after coming to collect it for West Brom’s second goal. As Arsenal host Manchester City on Sunday in the hope of hauling their way back into the top four race, Ospina is presented with the perfect opportunity to save his future at the club.

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Given Szczesny’s impending return, the success that he has enjoyed at Roma and the prevalent issues that Ospina has continued to suffer through, it is unlikely that Wenger sees his current number two as the future beyond the end of the year. Ospina, then, has only a handful of games to convince his manager otherwise, starting this Sunday.

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