The Goalkeeper conundrum – Who plays the next two games?

….and the few after it? Evening Gooners. I hope you are feeling a lot better 24 hours or so later. My disappointment of our Sunday performance was tangible. So much so that I forgot to talk about the goalkeeping issue. However after applying some bonjela , following yesterday’s write up, it is time to discuss this.

Poor Mannone. I’ll be amazed if you didn’t sympathize with the Italian as well. In a way he is a victim of his oustanding game against Fulham. We’re living in a world, where we crave for instant heroes. We live in a world where we give out prizes even when nothing substantial has been achieved. And Mannone is another example of this.  He was already given the honorary title of junior Buffon after one outstanding performance. Heaven forbid a couple of errors later he isn’t labelled the new ‘Taibi‘.

Yes you can highlight the mistakes he made. 3 of the last 5 goals conceded were avoidable had Mannone had the tactical nous and mental determination in perfect symphony. Yet the truth is and (it comes in a series of conditional if-clauses), if Fabianski was fit, despite his high profile mistakes last season, would have got the nod ahead of Mannone in all of those games. If Almunia’s illness had cured then Mannone should never been in the line up against Birmingham, Alkmaar and West Ham. And then there is the question of whether Almunia was ill after all.

This isn’t the first time Wenger has experimented in this crucial position. In Vieira’s final season at Arsenal, there was a period when Almunia and Lehmann only displayed consistency with their howlers. In the end Lehmann won purely on the basis of his reputation in that invincible season. And this goalkeeping merry-go-round surfaced again two seasons ago.

Almunia’s sparring partner Lehmann may have left the club but the Spaniard has more sparring partners now. None of them are better than him but that doesn’t stop him from showing shocking lapses of concentration and poor decision making.

Perhaps Wenger grew tired of seeing the owner of the number one shirt giving anything but the best. Or perhaps he just took the easiest route and made Almunia a scapegoat for our worst ever defensive start.

Either way his experimentation for the man in goal should have ended against Birmingham or Alkmaar. The look on Almunia’s face when the cameras focused on him during the Birmingham match for me suggested a man more than a little bemused by his non-selection. Who knows what thoughts are racing through his head now after being on the bench for another two games?

If a poll was conducted right now, most of us would welcome Almunia and forget his inconsistent performances instantly. On paper he is our number keeper with the most appearances. Experience is priceless, and at 32, the Spaniard is approaching the peak of his abilities. Yet is it so straightforward as that?

In two days time we play Liverpool in the Carling Cup. I’m almost certain Almunia won’t start that game. That is just not Wenger’s style. Instead you will most likely see Fabianski or even Szczesny in the starting line up.

After the Liverpool game comes probably the game of the season on Saturday afternoon against Spurs. Not many times do games in October assume such significance. And considering the closeness of the league it shouldn’t do. However unlike the West Ham game, there is more than local pride up for grabs.

And in an ideal world, you would want to have the issue of the number one shirt sorted sooner than later.