Almunia’s exit the end of his doomed career at the Gunners

Looking back to the 2020 Champions League final Arsenal can lament two things. Firstly, their cruel defeat at the hands of a stunning Barcelona side and, secondly, the sign of things to come from Manuel Almunia. Although this may seem a fairly harsh statement to make, it seems clear that even in that game all those years ago, Almunia was starting to show precisely why he would never quite be capable of making the grade at a top level football club after he failed to defend his front post adequately and was at fault for at least one of the two goals Arsenal conceded.

Following that game, Almunia found himself producing erratic performances in the Arsenal goal as the club struggled season after season to solve a defensive crisis that has caused the club to make a mockery of its former defensive ability that led to clean sheets galore. However, with Almunia all set to leave the Gunners, he may well now get a chance to show himself for what he is, a decent keeper for a mid-level club in the Premier League.
With the Gunners all too aware that they need an excellent shot stopper who is also able to organise the defence confidently so that the side can quickly turn defence into attack, something that can only be achieved through excellent distribution, it seems clear that the future for Almunia does not lie at the Emirates. Arsenal are now preparing to decide whether or not these qualities are present to a consistent enough extent in either of the other two young goalkeepers at their disposal.

If either does begin to demonstrate these badly needed qualities, Arsenal could yet look like great football bets for the title, with Almunia hopefully in the process joining a club elsewhere where he won’t come under anything like the same level of pressure as he seems to experience in North London. With Gunners fans still holding their keeper in high regard for a man who has always stayed loyal to the club, there is no doubt that they will wish him well as he looks to resurrect his career away from the Emirates.

Meanwhile, the Notts Forest betting suggests the side are in for another season of disappointment.

They currently sit in mid-table in the Championship and will have to up their game if they want to challenge for promotion.