Arsenal: Inevitable David Ospina sale sensible

Per the Daily Telegraph, Arsenal are planning to sell David Ospina, and not Petr Cech. The Colombian’s seemingly inevitable departure is sensible.

Arsenal have made five signings already this summer. Four of those five are guaranteed to play a fairly major part in the first team outings this season, fitness, fatigue and other outlying circumstances pending, with the fifth at least probable to remain with the club and play in the domestic cup competitions and early Europa League matches.

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Because of the efficiency of their relative spending spree, the focus of the remaining weeks of the summer transfer window — there are just over three weeks to run with the early August 9th closure — has shifted from potential incomings to expected outgoings.

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One of the positions that will certainly see a sale is goalkeeper. Arsenal already had four goalkeepers on the books with the return of Emiliano Martinez. They then signed Bernd Leno for £20 million, presumably to take the number one spot from Petr Cech. That leaves four goalkeepers fighting for just two squad positions. One of Martinez or Matt Macey could again be released on loan, but it still leaves Cech and David Ospina battling for nothing more than the reserve role.

A sale seems inevitable. And as the summer has progressed and more developments have surfaced, it seems as though Ospina, and not Cech, will be the man who is sold. Indeed, a report in the Daily Telegraph on Tuesday morning confirmed as much, stating that, of the two players to stay at the Emirates, ‘the expectation is that it will be the Colombia number one Ospina rather than Cech.’

And the trajectory of the summer certainly suggests as much. Cech has stated that he wants to stay and fight for his place. He started against Boreham Wood at the weekend with Ospina enjoying an extended break after the World Cup. Cech seems more comfortable to settle for a reserve role, whereas Ospina will surely be desperate to play more regularly after three seasons sat behind Cech.

Assuming that the almost inevitable sale does happen, it would, I believe, be a sensible move on Arsenal’s part. Ospina, while a magnificently gifted shot-stopper with great athleticism, reactions, and agility to cover the goal from some truly absurd angles and distances, has clear shortcomings in his command of his area, the confidence he instills in his defence, his communication, his flawed confidence in his distribution, and his maddening decision making.

Moreover, the greater experience of Cech will be invaluable as a back-up for Leno. There are few goalkeepers in history that understand the Premier League as innately as the former Chelsea goalkeeper — only four goalkeepers have made more Premier League appearances in their careers, and Cech could well overtake two of them next season. That experience is invaluable for a young and flawed goalkeeper like Leno who has never played in this country. Ospina, while still an intelligent and accomplished Premier League goalkeeper, cannot offer the same wisdom and knowledge as Cech.

Next: Arsenal: 3 most likely sale candidates this summer

The seemingly inevitable sale of Ospina, then, makes a lot of sense. It is time for Arsenal to move in a different direction, and that is no bad thing whatsoever.