Arsenal: Choice between Wojciech Szczesny and David Ospina must be made

Both David Ospina and Wojciech Szczesny have been heavily linked with an Arsenal exit this summer. While it is unreasonable to keep both in the squad, Arsene Wenger cannot allow the duo to leave and must choose one to be Petr Cech’s back-up.

When Arsenal signed Petr Cech, it was difficult to find an unhappy fan. After years of suffering through goalkeeping errors plaguing the side, it was nice to see a reliable, experienced, dependable pair of hands between the sticks.

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And now, while some have issues with Cech’s lack of spritely saves given his age and slightly diminished athleticism, the command of the defence that he brings, along with his calming influence, his assuredness in dealing with crosses, especially from set-pieces, and his astute communication and leadership are invaluable traits to a team that have struggled, mentally, to be defensively sound in recent years.

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However, when he came to the club, Arsenal already boasted two Premier League quality goalkeepers in David Ospina and Wojciech Szczesny. It was only possible to keep one of them to back up Cech. Arsene Wenger had a rather important decision to make.

In a perhaps surprising move, Wenger allowed Szczesny to leave on loan. Roma was his destination and the Polish international was offered the opportunity to start for a top European club in a competitive league, rather than stagnate behind Cech and Ospina in North London. Although I would have rather seen Ospina leave the club and Szczesny remain as the back-up, it was an understandable and sensible decision.

The same choice was then made a year later, with Szczesny again joining Roma on a season-long loan. And now, another year on, Wenger has the exact same goalkeeping dilemma to decipher. This time, though, I believe he is looking for a more permanent solution. Recent reports suggest that Ospina is edging towards an exit, with Fenerbache heavily interested in his services.

That is a sale that, from an Arsenal perspective, makes a lot of sense. Apart from, it has been rumoured that Szczesny is wanted by Juventus in a £14 million move as their eventual, long-term replacement for Gianluigi Buffon. Allowing either Szczesny or Ospina to leave is a decision that most fans can support. But allowing both to leave is sheer stupidity.

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It takes one serious injury to Cech to see Arsenal’s goalkeeping prospects down in the dumps once more without Szczesny or Ospina as a safety net. It would be wise to cash in on one of the two this summer, but Wenger must make a choice as to who he wants to keep at the club. Selling both would be lunacy.