It’s easy to forget that last season saw Arsene Wenger drop Wojciech Szczesny in the latter stages for what he considered sloppy form and a questionable mentality to some games. There were calls from the fans for a new shot-stopper to come in and challenge the big Poland international, and while Wenger did draft in Palermo man Emiliano Vivaiano on a loan deal, he hasn’t had a sniff of Premier League action yet as for the good form of the 23-year-old.
However, there are now reports – from the Mirror – saying that the Gunners will swoop for Leicester City keeper Kasper Schmeichel, son of a man considered one of the best in Premier League history.
The young Dane has been strutting his stuff in the second division of English football for some time now since leaving Manchester City back in 2009 and is out of contract in the summer.
With Leicester sitting 2nd in the league, the rumours say that unless the Foxes can achieve promotion, Schmeichel is likely to be his way.
My thinking behind the Arsenal move is this – Arsenal need a goalkeeper who is keen to push Szczesny and challenge him for the number one spot. They will need patience, determination and ultimately vast amounts of ability, and that’s exactly what this goalkeeper has got.
The men between the sticks usually peak in the latter stages of their career, so now at 26 this could very well be the time that the former Manchester City man to jump back up to the topflight and settle.
For me it’s a no brainer. He has the organisational skills, the aggressive demeanour that his dad once displayed and he is one of the finest goalkeepers outside the topflight when it comes to shot-stopping.