Scouting For Arsenal – 3 Shot Stoppers Who Can Grab The No 1 Spot From Wojciech Szczesny

Arsenal number one choice Goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny is facing fight to retain his starting places in the squad. With Lukasz Fabianski already deciding to leave the Emirates and and Emiliano Viviano’s loan due to expire, Arsene Wenger won’t be happy man considering Szczesny’s lack luster goalkeeping over the last week, conceding six against Chelsea and then conceding twice against Swansea last night. The Telegraph also reports that Szczesny faces a battle to keep hold of the long-term No 1 spot because Arsenal are looking for options in the summer in order to bring stability at the line of defense. So we here at Socersouls provide our readers with three choices for the Gunners.

1. Steve Mandanda:

The Marseille goalkeeper seems to be high on Wenger’s wish list and the Gunners are expected to make a move for this French International. With 250 appearances for the club, Mandanda has been a terrific shot stopper since he joined the Marseille way back in 2007. Marseille are currently sixth in the French Ligue one standings and move to Arsenal will be a good move for Mandanda . The highly-rated goalkeeper has also collected 16 caps for Les Blues, and though he still has two years remaining on his contract, he would find it hard extremely hard to turn down a move to one of the affluent consortias in the Premier league.

2. Victor Valdez:

The Barcelona number one has already announced he will leave the Nou Camp when his deal expires at the end of the season. The 32-year-old is keen for a new challenge and has been a long term transfer prospect for Arsenal, but the Gunners will face immense competition from French side AS Monaco. No doubt, the Spaniard is a brilliant shot stopper with instinctive reactions however it is experience at the biggest of stages that Arsenal will implicitly get out of him if he were to sign on the dotted lines at the Emirates. Real Madrid legend Iker Cassilas is also in the fray after the Spanish number one is being constantly overlooked at Bernebeu thanks to Diego Lopez’s inspired form.

3. Alex McCarthy:

I still remember his out of the world performance against Liverpool last season when he single handedly won a point for Reading. His excellent saves earned his accolades all over the Football fraternity with Liverpool manager labeling him as “absolutely staggering”. The 24 year old continues to have a brilliant season for the Royals in the Championship and has attracted the likes of Newcastle United too but Arsenal might be a destination which no young player would want to turn down.