Arsenal: David Ospina Madness Vindicates Wojciech Szczesny Sadness

David Ospina was back to his maddening self in Arsenal’s win over Sutton, vindicating the sadness of many fans after Wojciech Szczesny’s loan departure.

The Arsenal goalkeeping landscape has been far from pretty. Littered with sexy shot-stoppers who fail to comprehend the need to command their box, Arsene Wenger has often toiled away with subpar organisers between the sticks.

Petr Cech came in to address the balance and, for the most part, has done exactly that. However, his deputy, David Ospina, while enjoying impressive showings in various Champions League outings this season, was back to his maddening self against Sutton on Monday.

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He was reckless in coming for crosses, especially from set pieces, was careless in possession, almost gifting a goal to Adam May late in the first half, and failed to inspire confidence in a back four containing youngster Rob Holding. Ospina is a very talented goalkeeper. He is wonderfully athletic, boasts outstanding reflexes and is an excellent shot-stopper. However, his mental errors in orchestrating play will cost points over the course of a season.

Wenger has said in the past that he believes he has three world-class goalkeepers on his books. That includes Cech and Ospina but also refers to Wojciech Szczesny who is enjoying a career year in his second loan spell at Roma, playing at an extremely high level throughout the year. Last summer did bring about some confusion regarding the goalkeeping pecking order, an issue that has still not been settled.

Although Wenger saw it fit to allow Szczesny to leave again, seemingly valuing Ospina’s abilities greater than the Polish international’s, the persistence of his mental frailties, especially when collecting crosses and set pieces, perhaps suggest that Szczesny may be welcomed back to the Emirates as the established number 2.

There was a feeling of sadness when Szczesny was allowed to leave for his second consecutive loan departure in two years last summer, feeling that his natural talent is deserving of patience in waiting for him to blossom into the top class keeper that many expected of him early in his career.

Next: Arsenal Vs Sutton: 5 Things We Learned

Ospina’s Monday night madness was a worrying reoccurrence that will have to be monitored during the remainder of the season. As Szczesny prepares to return to North London with a fight on his hands to reclaim his starting role, the sadness felt regarding his departure is being vindicated.