Arsenal’s young keeper loses patience

Behind Manuel Almunia at Arsenal, there are three very promising keepers who are getting increasingly frustrated by their lack of action in the first team. It’s more frustrating when they see that Arsene Wenger is clearly in the market for a new keeper rather than entrust one of the younger stoppers already at the club. Lukasz Fabianski is second choice, but the Polish keeper made a couple of high-profile blunders last season and it looks as though Wenger has lost a bit faith in him.

Behind Fabianski are two younger goalkeepers battling it out to get noticed by Wenger and start challenging for games. Italian Vito Mannone is currently just ahead of Polish youngster Wojciech Szczesny. 22-year-old Mannone managed eight first team appearances last season, in the Premier League and Champions League, including a man of the match performance against Fulham.

20-year-old Pole Szczesny, is highly thought of at Arsenal, after impressing hugely on loan at Brentford last season. A number of Championship sides were interested in taking the keeper on loan this season but Wenger challenged the stopper to stay and fight for a place in the first team. It seems a strange choice from Wenger to not send Szczesny on loan, at 20 he is far too young to be in goal for title chasing Arsenal and Wenger will have known that, which makes the decision odder. Arsenal are football betting tips for the title, but the Pole won’t be playing a major part in their title challenge.

With Szczesny not getting anywhere near the first team so far the season, not even in the Carling Cup, he has said may be forced to seek a transfer elsewhere. This would be a massive loss for Wenger who would lose one of the most exciting young keepers in Europe. A much better way of handling Szczesny would have to been sending him out on loan for at least the next two season and then let him play back-up to an experienced number one for a few years.

Although Almunia has started the season as first choice goalkeeper, the Spaniard has again failed to impress Wenger and Arsenal look sure to sign a new number one when the January transfer window opens. It could be one in, one out if Szczesny chooses to leave to get first team action.

Meanwhile, the Fulham betting suggests they could struggle this season after they failed to get off to an impressive start under new manger Mark Hughes.

The side will have been targeting Europe, but will probably do well to finish in the top half.

Harper’s misfortune strikes again

Newcastle keeper Steve Harper’s luck finally changed a season and a half ago, after spending the majority of his career watching the action from the bench. With Shay Given moving to Manchester City, where rumour has it, the dressing rooms are paved with gold, Harper could finally call himself Newcastle’s number one keeper. It was a long road for Harper to get to be first choice, starting at the club in 1993 as a youngster. The 35-year-old has had to play back up for his entire Newcastle career, first behind Pavel Srnicek and then Shaka Hislop, before spending eight years in Given’s shadow. Read more