Going into the big game at Wembley, Arsene Wenger certainly has a lot of tough calls to make in regards to his team selection. One area of the pitch which is sure to give the Frenchman a headache is in goal. Does he stick with the new Cup-keeper Wojciech Szczesny or bring in the more assured David Ospina in his place?
For me, both custodians come with their pros and cons. Szczesny is more than capable of pulling off a world-class save but fails to do the simple things right. Ospina, on the other hand, has suffered a noticeable dip in form over the last couple of weeks but the biggest advantage with the Colombian is that he has a safe pair of hands. Quite frankly, the only error he’s ever made was last week against West Brom and we can forgive him for that since he may have well been reading a newspaper as Arsenal dominated a vast majority of the game.
My choice for the big game is Ospina. While it will be a big hit to Szczesny’s confidence, I believe that it is something that has to be done. An FA Cup final is a game in which you play your best team, and that most definitely includes your best goalkeeper. Considering the fact that the Pole has played around two games in the past five months, he is bound to be a bit rusty, prone to errors and he may as well attempt to do silly things like beat an on-rushing player, something I believe he has been lucky to get away with on so many occasions.
In addition, Ospina has also established a very good understanding with Mertesacker and Koscielny and the trio have a very good defensive record when played together. Looking at the importance of the game as building a good platform for next season, Wenger simply cannot afford to take any risks, especially in goal! Simply put, David Ospina must start!
Anurag