Arsene Wenger has hinted that goalkeeper David Ospina will keep his Arsenal place for the remainder of the Champions League ties. The Colombian was a surprise inclusion in the starting line-up last night, but went on to be the stand-out performer in the Gunners side, making a number of decisive saves to deny their hosts.
We could easily have come out of the match beaten, but Ospina kept us in the game, and thanks to an equalising goal from Alexis Sanchez, we managed to secure an important point away from home.
It was not a flawless performance by the 28 year-old, as Edinson Cavani was able to get the better of him in the opening minute of the game, but he was not solely at fault for the goal, and he certainly made up for it in what followed.
Arsene Wenger has now hinted that his second-choice keeper could be set to keep his first-team slot for the upcoming group games, after praising his performance, before also claiming that both of his goalkeepers were World Class.
He said: “It’s a good point for us. David Ospina did play very well. Tonight he showed his detractors that he is a very good goalkeeper, those who doubted him.
“Last year he made a mistake in the Champions League and everyone jumped all over him. He showed what he’s about tonight.
“I have two world-class goalkeepers.I can give them both games. If they do not play, you can’t keep two world-class goalkeepers.”
“We have a rule that the keepers know (when they will play),” he added. “It’s important to have clear rules like that.
“They know what the rules are for the season. If they change, I’ll tell them.”
Asked if Ospina will only feature in Europe, Wenger replied: “I’ll not answer that question. It’s down to performances.
“On what he delivered tonight, he has the right to stay in the team for the next Champions League game.”
Can Ospina challenge Cech for his first-team spot? Was the Colombian convinced to stay at the club with the promise of Champions League football as a minimum?
Pat J
Should ospina keep his champions league spot?
A MILLION TIMES YES!!!
After his performance against PSG?
Yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes
HELL YEAH!!!
Ospina should keep playing in the CL until he makes Wenger think otherwise. I’m sure Wenger promised him enough, which is the reason why he stayed with us. We all know he can be a world class goalkeeper but his weakness is ball handling.
Let’s not forget that Cech won’t stay with us forever and will probably leave us next summer or in two at most. People seem to forget the mistakes Cech makes but remember Ospina’s mistake last year in the CL.
After making so many great saves in the match, there was a time when I thought well yea here it is when Cavani broke away and BAM Ospina brilliantly down quickly to push the ball away when Cavani attempted to go around him. Excellent game. Will only build his confidence and pushes Cech. Win win for us.
Gigi Buffon makes 1.5 saves per game. It is a weakness when a keeper has to make too many saves in a game, it simply means he cannot organise his defense! Acrobatics can only get you so far. You’d think Wenger would know that already.
It is a weakness in the team when the keeper has to make too many saves. One can blame the manager for choosing the players, team selection, tactics, training. Blame the captain for not organising the team on the field. Blame the outfield players for not closing down the opposing players, making mistakes etc. There are lots of people to blame but you pick the guy who is left with the job of sorting the shambles out, and does so.
The goalie has a role to play in organising the defense, however his influence is limited, the mistakes are often made well away from the goal area.
Ospina was one of the few arsenal players on the pitch doing his job well. It was not his fault that the team selection was questionable and most players underperformed for much of the match.
Of course he should, he had an absolute blinder and is a worldclass keeper that deseeves game time, otherwise he will leave. Even the best teams (barcelona, real Madrid etc) have cup and league keepers.
OT, why is everyone so negative on here? Yes we didnt play that well on Tuesday but we still managed to get a point, which is a great result. Our team is still gelling and we are still getting positive results. I know wenger’s team selection was questionable on tuesday but can we all stop moaning and support the team when we are getting the positivr results that we asked for?
Ask this question when or if he comes to claim a few balls and makes a complete hash of it. Then when the media begin hammering the decision not to play one of the games finest, let them come on here and defend Arsene resolutely ..you know? ..like they did last season.
To anwer the question YES.
Apparently, Ospina was tempted to move to Everton during the summer and only stayed at Arsenal because Wenger promised him the Champions league games.?
If he carrys on playing like he did against PSG, it won’t be long until he replaces Cech as number one.