Arsenal: How Manuel Almunia Could Be Important in the Gunners' Title Push

Manuel Almunia is the forgotten man at the Emirates in recent times due to the excellent form of Lukasz Fabianski and emergence of fellow Pole Wojciech Szczesny. Both the Polish keepers were able to take advantage of Almunia's elbow injury, sustained from the home defeat to West Bromwhich Albion back in September.

But with Fabianksi's shoulder surgery keeping him out of action for the rest of the season and Szczesny needing six weeks for an operation on his finger, Almunia finds himself back between the sticks in a very crucial moment in the Gunner's season.

Arsenal was knocked out of the Champions League, extremely unfairly, by Barcelona, and having already been beaten by Birmingham City in the Carling Cup, the FA Cup and Premier League title are the only two options left for silverware in the red half of North London. Both of which are looking like distinct possibilities. 

However, now that Arsenal's squad is down to just one experienced keeper, it has prompted Arsene Wenger to seek an emergency loan as cover.

For the time being, Almunia is being relied upon to be number one, a prospect many fans will groan at. But before they write off the Spaniard, there are a few key things to remember.

Almunia is a fantastic penalty saver. Alright, he didn't save an arrogant penalty against Lionel Messi in the second leg against Barca, but he has been known to save them in key moments before.

In the 2007-08 campaign, he produced a stunning penalty save against Tottenham's Robbie Keane at the Emirates to keep the scores at 1-1. Arsenal later went on to win the game 2-1. With Laurent Koscielny having a knack of conceding penalties this season, Almunia may come in handy.

On his day, the Spaniard can be seemingly unbeatable. Just ask Xavi, Ibrahimovic, Messi and Busquets. He made unbelievable saves against them all in last season's Champion's League meeting between Arsenal and Barca. This shows just how good he can be when he is needed.

On top of that, he brings much needed experience to the team, especially now when the Gunners are in the business end of the season. They will need his cool head and smart saves to bring some defence balance.