Why Arsenal keeper Ospina is giving Szczesny NO CHANCE

I know that it is still a bit too early to really judge just how good the Arsenal and Colombian international keeper David Ospina is going to be in the English Premier League, or even whether he is going to continue to keep out our long standing number one Wojciech Szczesny.

But how often do we hear people say that it takes time for players to get used to the rough and tumble of football in England? So maybe we should give some more credit to Ospina for the way that he has hit the ground running, just as the TV pundits and fans have been raving over Alexis Sanchez.

Because our new keeper has some pretty amazing stats so far. After conceding the fewest goals in the group stages of the World Cup finals last summer, the 26-year has conceded no goals in his three Premier League games, no goals from his one FA cup game, one penalty given away by Szczesny in the Champions League and the two in his debut against Southampton in the League cup.

And when you put him up against David De Gea and Thibaut Courtois in the Squawka.com stats comparison, he looks even better.

Going on a 90 minute average, Ospina comes top or joint top in the key categories of saves per game, saves per goal, punches per game, catches per game and clean sheets, as well as the overall scores. So while it is clear that we will need more time to judge him, Ospina has made a fantastic start and is really giving his competitor no chance whatsoever of getting a Premier League start anytime soon.

Have Arsenal really got a new number one? And could the signing of Ospina prove to be nearly as important as that of Alexis?

Tags Courtois De Gea Szczesny

24 Comments

  1. The bitter truth is until a calamitous display from Ospina,Szczesny will remain rooted to the bench.

  2. Ospina is a calming influence,it seems that even his defence have faith in him and none of those panic stations we had at the back when Szczesny was still playing

    1. Its good to have good competition on areas of the pitch.

      Oooooooospina = EPL and UCL

      Szc = FA cup

      The fact that we finally have a proper DM in Le Coq and we have finally dropped playing that stupid highline has really improved our defensive play, ofcourse coupled with defending from the front and having a calm golie.

      Szc will come good some day, all he needs is to be willing to learn from Ospina, Martinez and the coaching staff if he really wants to improve. He should drop the bad boy act and stop listening to daddy too much.

      1. Schez will never be the keeper we want him to be.
        He has shown time and time again that he is reckless, has poor judgement and is incredibly cocky.
        This team is improving and we have got shot of a lot of deadwood, this is not the time to stop.
        Schez is a decent keeper but even Martinez our 3rd choice was his equal recently.
        He ain’t a Seaman or a Lehmann.

  3. There are a few sites here worth shutting down. One of them being golazogoal.com! I could mention a few more but suffice it to say that Just Arsenal is not one of them. Keep up the good work.

  4. Another blog site not worth opening even with a barge pole is Offside Football! I will keep naming and shaming them so that fans are aware!!

  5. There are things that stats may overlook.. It is vey clear that our defense has really calmed down now.. I cant tell for sure if it is the Ospina effect or the Coq one. But one thing that he surely deserves credit for is his quick and accurate distribution of the ball.. How many times have I yelled my lungs out to Sczezny to just throw the damn ball for a counter.. he keeps it to himself and takes his own time..
    Ospina makes quick throws to Bellerin or Nacho, who then mixes a couple of passes with our wingers and boom.. there we have a counter attack.. and when Arsenal counter attacks, we all know its a beauty to watch…

    1. I agree with you on most of the points. However The southampton game Coq played but guess what, Szheszny played and we both know what happened. If Ospina played In that game, I can bet u we would have come out at least with a draw.

  6. WS was very arrogant, believing sometimes in his own hype! This has brought about his fall from grace! I used to think he was a complete GK until the supposed confidence crossed that white line? He should be the back-up keeper and if he thinks that’s too degrading then he should be sold to the highest, dumbest bidder. That will teach him and each of us one good lesson and that is that pride goes before a fall!!!

    1. Why the hate? Why the anger? Why slate an Arsenal player?
      Chezzer has save our ass many times. If Ospina breaks a wrist tomorrow, are you going to to play?

      There is a type of fan like you that picks on a player. First it was Ramsey, then Cazorla, then Giroud, then Monreal, then Per, then Ozil. You guys pick on our own players and throw hate and bile towards them. Why ?

      Connect the dots here for me…fan..team …supporters

  7. One important factor we have going for us at this point is the increase in competition for places.

    It’s not only in the GK position… All aspects of the team. The competition is bringing out the best in everyone.

    Having said that, keep an eye on the next game Chambers will get an opportunity to start (probably against boro).. And see the amazing effort competiton for places brings from players.

  8. Why are some guys here bashing Sczchney? What is wrong with having to good goalies who can always fight for a starting slot?This is what brings out the best in them.Have u asked yourself why Arsenal is doing well at the moment?
    Well,the lads are just fighting for starting slots.

  9. The Fact is as I have said before. Szczesny has not improved as well as the other goal keepers from the other top clubs. His decision making is bad and this leads to a shaky defence. Not only is Mert looking better but our defence as a whole looks solid. Why because we have a goal keeper that is controlling the defence. Ask any keeper what his duty is. It is to organise the defence and demands his 18 yard area. So far Ospina is doing both.

    Tell me…. How much times have we seen Opsina run out of his box to clear balls meant for the defender or just doing something rash. Szczesny done this on so many occasions it was just crazy. Szczesny needs to learn as I think Ospina can teach him a thing or two.

    Its been ages since I have felt so much confidence in a goalkeeper. And I know what people will say its only a few games. But just watching him makes me confident.

    And I just love the way the fans say OOOOOOOOOSPPPPPPINNNNNNAAAA when he kicks the ball. Brilliant as usaul from the Arsenal Faithful.

  10. Even a calamitous display from Ooooospina won’t hand szczesny no.1 position, I think it wasn’t completely about conceding, WS1 was never as calm as Ospina is currently. 4 seasons is not 4 games.

  11. I’m afraid WS has now lost that No.1 spot… This will do a couple of good things for his career though… First of all it will bring him back down to earth again, as well as (hopefully) make him work harder… I hope he can try and learn from Ospina in how to keep calm, although I think WS is a bit too stubborn to learn from another keeper.

    With that said, I think WS is still a good keeper, with all the athletic ability required… He just needs to stop being erratic/edgy, and make better decisions… He can learn this from Ospina

  12. Let us not forget that Osipina and Szczesny are two different kind of human beings. their characters are not the same. The issue is that Ospina is abled to adjust quickly to the new order of playing football at Arsenal. Which are dis-emphasising possession (tiki-taka) base football to embrace a practical precision goal-scoring attacking football. Unfortunately for Szczesny he couldn’t adapt quickly to the new order of play. This new order of playing football at Arsenal is a consequent of the presure mounted on the boss by the hard-line Arsenal fans who were demanding a better output from the Gunners games in terms of results on the field of play. A better results we are all now seeing. Nonetheless, Szczesny is learning as the has confirmed in his last press conference. Ospina came good in one big game at the Etihad. Let’s see and hope he comes good or very good too at the Lane on Saturday’s afternoon if the boss plays him.

    1. Hell no….AOB ain’t taking credit no credit for our current good spell. It was bound to happen because the change of tactics by using the 4141 was introduced by wenger from the start of the season but it has just taking time for the team to get used to it esp with injured players coming back. So All fans needed to do which i’m glad they re doing now is support the team and manager. Arsene does not need to listen to you, he KNOWS more than you and has the right team of professionals around him to do what he needs to do to succeed. All that was need was patience…simples

  13. Cool, calm, very good distribution. And probably one of the coolest chants for an arsenal player I can remember in years. He looked very good at the wc, and for the price we paid he looks to be an absolute steal. Ooooooospina all the way!

  14. Simple facts are that Ospina is a better goalkeeper. Look at his career, he’s been consistent on every aspect of his game at both domestic and international level. He understands the chain with regards to the men in front of him and gives them the confidence to concentrate on doing what they have to do without having to worry about their goalie rushing out needlessly, trying to act like a sweeper and all around creating problems for the team. He may not be wearing the number 1 shirt but he is the number 1 To me.

  15. Ospina is Number 1. The reasons are;

    1) He seems to have a calming influence on the back four and the team. No one is pannicking in the box….I’m not even scared of corners or free kicks anymore since he replaced our number 2 keeper.

    2) Better communicator. You can tell he know his stuff, he communicates better with the back four and as a reward the team trust him and can do their own jobs more effectively with worry at the back.

    3) I don’t care who you are but if you can keep a clean sheet against Mancity at their ground and against the stoke (team full of thugs) you are a quality keeper.

    4) This is actually one of his best traits for me. If you watch the aston villa game again, you will realise that when he kicks the ball out of the box, Arsenal players mostly get the ball. He just doesnt kick the ball anywhere he kicks with precision and he also tries to distribute the ball to the team thus launching attacks. Walcotts goal was initiated by ospina. In all the years of seeing szheszny as our keeper, I have never seen him do this. This trait alone makes Ospina number one in my book.

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