The big decision to drop goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny was a gamble taken by Arsene Wenger as David Ospina hadn’t really played a lot of games in the Premier League or had time to communicate well with an ever changing back 4. A decision was taken as Szczesny had been struggling for form at the club and dropping him was the only way to ensure that his place at the club is not a guaranteed one.
Ospina, however, has not had the greatest of times in goal for Arsenal and has looked a little shaky for the Gunners, the Colombian might be the number one goalkeeper at Arsenal but he still needs a few more great games to convince the supporters. There are some people calling for the reinstatement of Szczesny back to the starting line and we look at just which goalkeeper has done better for the club thanks to Squawka stats.
Colombia or Poland?
Although Ospina has played fewer Premier League games than Szczesny, he has conceded fewer goals than the Polish goalkeeper. Ospina concedes an average of 0.62 goals per game while Szczesny concedes almost double at 1.24 goals per game, while that can be attributed to Ospina playing fewer games, he also has a better record in terms of saves made per game.
The Colombian goalkeeper averages 2.25 saves per game when compared to just 1.65 saves per game from Wojciech Szczesny. One of the biggest criticisms of Szczesny was the fact that he could not deal with the ball coming in from crosses and would often end up flapping about, this is one stat in which Ospina excels.
Although the Colombian might not be as well built as Szczesny, he still averages 3.12 successful catches per game compared to 2 catches per game for Szczesny, which just proves that Ospina is willing to try and grab hold of the ball rather than just parry it as Szczesny has done quite a few times this season. The trend continues in terms of punching, not in terms of boxing or knocking someone out but for knocking the ball out from crosses or corners. Ospina averages at least 1 punch per game while Szczesny only provides a paltry 0.12 punch per game, which proves that he is not comfortable in dealing with the ball in the air.
While Ospina has not looked as comfortable as people would want, the stats are showing a promising reading for Ospina and Arsene should stick with the Colombian in goal as he will only grow in stature at the club. It could well be the end of the road for Szczesny and only a miracle can ensure that the Pole can turn it around.