Arsenal Tries To Beat Goalie Jinx

Since the tenure of Jens Lehman, nothing but stable in itself, the Gunners have been trying to find a goalie to feel the position permanently.

The replacements prepared for Lehman have failed to materialized, and in the wake of the World Cup, the Gunners seem set on signing a marquee player to fix their weakest position.

Manuel Almunia

Manuel Almunia was acquired by Arsenal in 2005 from Albacete in order to replace Lehman after a disappointing season.

Almunia had a few high profile errors that soon gave the job back to Lehman.

When Lehman finally left the team in 2008, Almunia established himself as the stable keeper at net, but has failed to impress enough to secure his job with the English team.

Lukasz Fabianski

The Polish keeper started the last four games of the 2009/2010 season in the EPL.

Despite starting the games, Almunia was still seen as the No. 1 keeper at Arsenal.

Fabianski saw most of his play in the FA cup, where he helped Arsenal advance to the semifinals against Chelsea.

Vito Mannone

Vita Mannone was the third goalie in the Arsenal squad.

Although he has great potential, Mannone is still considered to young and raw to head the English team.

He joined the Gunners from Atalanta in 2005.

Jens Lehman

Jens Lehman had been the goalkeeper for Arsenal from 2003-2008.

Lehman had a stellar year in 2005-20006, when Arsenal reached the UCL final, but he was always unsteady.

He temporarily lost the job to Almunia in 2005, and by the time of his departure in 2008, he was alternating starting position with Almunia and Fabianski.

When Lehman left the team in 2008, it was in the shadow of damning declaration against the club and the other goalies on the team.

Possible Solutions: Federico Marchetti

Federico Marchetti knows about replacing legends. When Gianluigi Buffon injured his back in South Africa, Marchetti was forced to step in for one of Italy's more iconic players.

While Italy had a disastrous campaign, it can hardly all be placed on Marchetti.

Marchetti, who currently plays for Cagliari, is said to be the goalie targeted most strongly by the Gunners.

Possible Solutions: Maarten Steklenburg

Stekelenburg was another goalie that stood out in the 2010 World Cup. He was paramount in helping the Netherlands reach their third World Cup final.

The goalie, who has played dominantly for Ajax, has also been in talks with the Arsenal team.

Possible Solutions: Manuel Neuer

Manuel Neuer found himself under the German net after a variety of unfortunate events that decimated the goalie position for the Germans.

Few knew how the young player would react, but Neuer was solid throughout the World cup.

While the strong defensive play of the Germans kept Neuer unoccupied for most of the cup, the current goalie of Schalke '04 could follow in the footsteps of Jens Lehman if he makes the transfer of Arsenal—hopefully with a more stellar result.