David Ospina Error Underlines Arsenal's Need for Top-Class Goalkeeper

As Arsenal's 2014-15 season comes to a close, manager Arsene Wenger must already be formulating his plans for the summer transfer market. After last weekend, one item on his shopping list should be set. Whether or not the Gunners win a second consecutive FA Cup this weekend, the club will need a new first-choice goalkeeper ahead of next season.

That need came into full view again this past weekend during Arsenal's 4-1 victory at home to West Bromwich Albion to close the Premier League season. Taken as a whole, the team's performance was overwhelmingly positive. But the sequence that led to West Brom's lone goal showed once again that David Ospina is not the long-term answer between the goalposts.

In the 57th minute, Chris Brunt lofted a cross into Arsenal's box, and Ospina moved to collect. But instead of catching the ball, Ospina flapped, allowing Gareth McAuley a free header on an unguarded net. The goal proved inconsequential to the match, but the incident illustrated why Wenger can't depend on Ospina.

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In the simplest of terms, Ospina is not a top-class goalkeeper. He has performed admirably since taking over the starting job from Wojciech Szczesny, but if Arsenal want to mount a serious challenge for the Premier League title next season—and Wenger has repeatedly claimed that is the goal—then the club will need a goalkeeper of the highest quality.

Szczesny, who was Arsenal's first-choice stopper for much of the past few years, lost the job this season after a rough run of form and a smoking incident in the showers at Southampton. At 25, Szczesny still has time to mature into a top-class goalkeeper, but Wenger should be open to an upgrade if the right player is available this summer.

Not that his words would lead you to think so. "I believe that Szczesny is a very good goalkeeper and Ospina has come in and done a fantastic job," Wenger said recently, per the London Evening Standard. "You look at the numbers in the Premier League and who is top of all the goalkeepers and you will see it is Ospina."

On Sky Sports' Super Sunday, Arsenal legend Thierry Henry argued that the Gunners need to sign a new goalkeeper. Others also aren't quite convinced. Writing for the Daily Telegraph, Jeremy Wilson questioned whether Ospina is tall enough:

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(T)he wider issue is simply whether, at 6ft tall, he has the physical stature of the absolute elite in his position. The history of the Premier League tells us everything we need to know about the importance of a team's goalkeeper. Between them, Petr Cech, David Seaman, Edwin van der Sar, Joe Hart, Thibaut Courtois and Peter Schmeichel were regulars in 17 of the title winning teams since 1993.

They all also stand between 6ft 3ins and 6ft 7ins tall. As Brian Clough said when he was questioned by Nottingham Forest directors for signing Peter Shilton in 1977 for a then unthinkable fee of £270,000, 'a team with an OK goalkeeper is always looking over its shoulder. I'd have paid almost any price.'

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Widespread reports, such as this from ESPN FC's Pete O'Rourke, have linked Arsenal with a move for long-term Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech, who spent most of the past season on the bench behind Thibaut Courtois. Still just 32—hardly an advanced age for a goalkeeper—Cech would certainly fit the bill as a top-class stopper. But it's unclear that Chelsea would sell to a direct rival, especially since the move would benefit Arsenal so clearly.

Regardless, Wenger should take heed of the warning Ospina unwittingly provided in the final Premier League match of the season. Though the Colombian might have earned Wenger's confidence over the course of the season, he is not the long-term solution in goal. A top replacement is needed if the Gunners are to challenge for the title next season.

Follow @MiguelCominguez.