Arsenal: Timo Horn makes Jan Oblak look downright stupid

Arsenal are tied to a bunch of keepers, but haven’t we learned that price tag isn’t all that matters? Timo Horn is the man, not Jan Oblak.

Arsenal may have a renewed Petr Cech with his penalty save and his 200th clean sheet, but it’s past time that we find a long-term solution among the copious amounts available. David Ospina needs to hit the road too, so let’s talk about what to do with that position.

Naturally, everyone wants Jan Oblak. He is one of the best keepers in the world. But, fun fact, he is also playing behind one of the best, most well-organized defenses in the world. Atletico Madrid face the 14th least shots (11 per game) in La Liga.

They also make the 14th least saves at just 2.7 per game. What’s even more telling is that the majority of those saves, 1.5 of them, come from outside of the box entirely – a testament to the solidity of that defense.

Another 1.2 come from the penalty area. None come from inside the six yard box.

So yeah, Oblak is great. Truly, he is. But stick him behind a carousel of an Arsenal defense and what happens? Well, nobody knows. Because this defense has made Petr Cech look damn average at times and Oblak has never had to face a lot of pressure.

Enter Timo Horn.

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Timo Horn is buried on the worst team in the Bundesliga, FC Koln. They face the most shots (15.9 per game) of any other team and they make the second most saves (3.8). However, they make more saves than any other Bundesliga team from inside the penalty area (2.1). Only 1.5 come from outside the box and another 0.2 from inside the six-yard box.

How does that translate to Arsenal? Well, Arsenal’s keepers have been called into action most from inside the penalty area. As much as the other two areas combined. That is the danger area and that is the area that Horn is most equipped to deal with.

He is used to being under pressure, he is used to a shaky defense and he can handle it. And when you stack them side by side, Horn makes 2.81 saves per 90 and Oblak makes 2.36. So what’s the big deal?

I’ll tell you the big deal. The big deal is that Oblak will cost £89m, which is absolutely stupid, and Timo Horn will cost £5.4m thanks to his relegation release clause with FC Koln, should they get relegated.

You know what Arsenal could buy with that extra £83.6m? They could buy two and a half Granit Xhaka’s, and how happy would that make everyone? They could buy Luka Modric and a top-class defender. They could buy so many things.

Next: 3 Solutions To The Growing Alex Iwobi Problem

You don’t want to spend all that freaking money on a keeper that’s only under pressure when he has to pick which breakfast cereal to eat in the morning. You want to take the bargain buy for a guy that lives under pressure and does pretty damn well in it.

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