One potential weak link in our side…
If Arsenal win the Premier League this season and they continue their form into next season, there will be some more additions in the transfer window for sure.
But there is definitely one position we will need to cater for without a doubt, the Goalkeeping position.
Now I say this because so far so good we have been lucky with Aaron Ramsdale, who has pretty much stayed fit for the whole season and done well.
However, imagine the worst case possible, Ramsdale gets injured, who are we left with?
Our second choice, Matt Turner. Who, if I am honest,has not impressed me at all.
Well given the fact he had an awful and shaky game in Portugal when we played Sporting Lisbon in our first leg of the Europa League, and given the fact that Mikel Arteta felt he had to drop him for the second leg at the Emirates and bring in Ramsdale.
We really should have been able to kill the game off in that first leg and Ramsdale should never have had to come in for him, simply shows me that even Arteta doesn’t or didn’t at the time have faith in Turner.
Although Ramsdale did make a big error in that game, but let’s not go there, because one game out of 28 I am sure he can be forgiven right?
Now it can be argued that Turner hasn’t had game time and he hasn’t had enough time to prove himself, that is a fair argument of course. However if we go on a successful title and trophy wining run, you want players that can perform and you want strong players in your team, and no offence to him, but I don’t think Turner is one of those. At least not yet..
Turner seems to right now be the weak link in the side, whom if Ramsdale did get injured for the run in, I will not hold much hope and positivity that he will save us if there are threats on our goal. Now of course where players are concerned I love nothing more than being proved wrong and I will always be the first one to hold my hands up. But what I don’t see I can’t overturn.
Over the years we have had strong goalkeepers and a weak defence but now the tide has hopefully turned, the defence is strong, as is the keeper, touch wood!
BUT take out Ramsdale and there is the weak link.
So, in my opinion this is where we need to go out and buy a well-known experienced and strong goalkeeper who can rival Ramsdale and maybe even Turner if he stays. Because we cannot guarantee that Ramsdale will continue to go all seasons uninjured although we hope he does, but it doesn’t harm to have two strong goalkeepers now does it?
Gooners do you think Turner is worthy of a place in this team and do you have faith in him if he had to come in for Ramsdale for a whole season?
Shenel Osman
@sh3n3l_
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Turner hasn’t got enough chance yet. Let him stay for another season and see whether he is better in penalty situation than Ramsdale or not, unless we get a good offer for him
The GK that plays in a knockout competition should be excellent in penalties. Remember how Martinez won FA Cup and World Cup
Spot on mate.
However, I think we already have a very good goalkeeper in Hein (the young lad).
He has the height and the mentality to be an elite keeper in my opinion. I remember the little tournament during the world cup break, he made decent saves, very good distribution and good at penalties too.
I like to add that the guy has been very consistent for Estonia as well in the friendlies and qualifying matches.
We should promote him to deputize for Ramsdale.
Turner has been reasonably decent until that game in Lisbon, in my opinion. So I think he should be allowed to prove himself further. It’s only his first season, remember.
Moreover, it’s not easy to find top-grade keepers who are willing to play second fiddle. Isn’t that the reason we lost the likes of Fabianski, Martinez and Leno?
Let Turner be for now. We have some excellent youngsters in in Hein and Okonkwo waiting to explode into the limelight
Well, if he was the cup keeper but got dropped in the most crucial game of the cup, it does indicate that the boss doesn’t think he’s good enough for it.
Next season I reckon Ramsdale will ne our PL and CL keeper. I wouldn’t mind Hein stepping up as the 2nd choice. He’s already a veteran for Estonia national team.
The US has shown the UK some really great keepers, and Turner may yet follow the trend, but in the meantime, we might get a couple of seasons out of respected goalie Alan Camsell.
In reality it is rather difficult to have a top goalkeeper as a number two. This is because it is a position where the back-up practically only gets minutes when the first choice is injured and goalkeepers rarely get injured and hardly need rest. Look around all the top clubs in Europe and there’s hardly any with a top class number 2. Essentially, Turner is has good as it gets. In my opinion, the American has done fairly well whenever called upon,bar the Sporting game – and that can be attributed to rustiness and/or the fact that the entire team didn’t perform well on the day. I must also point out that he did perform quite well for USA at the World Cup
Goalie and striker are 2 positions where things seem magnified, especially mistakes. It is hard to sit on the bench for weeks or months, then get a start and people expect class performances.
Ramsdale gets the nod every week, and gets to play with the best 11. Backups get random game time, play with mix and match lineups; bench players, reserves, and even youth sometimes.
Let’s have a bit of perspective here, and we have seen quality class GK don’t want to sit on the bench and wait to play for weeks or months.
The favoured option for many of the big clubs has been a third choice keeper that’s an experienced veteran, too old for regular football, but you know when they’re called on, being on the bench hasn’t phased them. They can then be moved on to coaching once they’ve got the badges. Too many young keepers doesnt work when looking at winning honours. In all honesty of the two key areas that mistakes cannot be made, keeper backup is a concern, but central defence/defensive midfield is still the key area in which we need more depth. While holding has done okay, xhaka and partey are having their best seasons, we need a rotating four at centre back, and viera clearly isnt ready to be a regular replacement for our defensive midfield duo. As I understand it though, arteta and edu are looking at the ch/dm positions for the summer window, along with another striker.
It is bold to write an article claiming Turner needs to be replaced without offering any actual analysis to back the statement up.
For Sporting’s first goal, I see Martinelli lose his mark with our two zonally marking center backs not attacking the service or protecting the space in front of Turner. For Sporting’s second goal, Turner faces a point blank low shot with a Sporting player again beating out our two center backs, this time to a rebound, in the center of the goal. Sure, maybe Turner should have parried the ball wide, but at such a close range he has very little time to react. The center forward is also often lurking back post so parrying the ball towards our center backs could have been a better move. The center backs have more questions to answer than Matt this game.
I am a huge US fan but raised my eyebrow when we signed Turner last summer because his greatest weakness is playing with the ball at his feet and this is something Arteta demands of his keepers. I think this aspect of his game has grown leaps and bounds. He looked like a different player at the World Cup compared to where he was a year ago. I have been impressed with his development in a short amount time and he has certainly earned another season as our backup.
Arthur Okwonkwo spent half the season at Crewe and has since moved to Sturm Grazie who are second in the Austrian Bundesliga. He is 21.
Karl Hein is 20 and has eighteen caps for Estonia plus has had a loan sell at Reading. He is 20.
They are both going to be pushing Turner and Ramsdale pretty hard soon. I do not think we have to worry about goalkeepers.