Arsenal have come on leaps and bounds in recent seasons - but one thing has been a blot on their progress
(Image credit: Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)
There's not a lot more I could have asked Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta for at this stage in his reign. Other than trophies, of course.
The Basque boss is responsible for connecting a fanbase with their club once more. He's introduced homegrown academy talents to the squad. He's made the Gunners smarter in the transfer market, made exciting signings, even improved the style of play, as well as the results.
Frankly, it's been a phenomenal turnaround, from the safety-first-second-and-third of Unai Emery's two-DMs-and-five-defenders-against-Huddersfield, and the toxicity that used to cloak the Emirates Stadium. But nothing is perfect, and as an Arsenal fan, one annoying thing has persisted throughout Arteta's tenure.
Sometimes you just have to reflect on how far Arsenal have come (Image credit: AFP via Getty Images)
What on Earth goes on behind closed doors with Arsenal's goalkeeper department? The churn just isn't normal.
Rewind to Arteta getting the Arsenal job, and him bringing in Inaki Cana as his goalkeeping coach. Bernd Leno was the No.1 back then, arguably the Player of the Season during 2019/20 – in part, down to how bad everyone else was during an eighth-placed finish in the league – only for Emiliano Martinez to step in during an injury and help Arteta to his first trophy as manager, winning the FA Cup that season.
The story has become a Sliding Doors moment and meme. Martinez wanted first-team football after starring for the Gunners and went to Aston Villa. In response, Arsenal signed little-known Alex Runarsson as Leno's deputy, on Cana's recommendation, despite league-low stats at Dijon in France.
And that's when the peculiarity really began. Leno regressed to a shadow of his former self, conceding own goals to Everton and handling outside his area against Wolves. Martinez, meanwhile, became world-class and won Lionel Messi a Copa America and World Cup. Runarsson, reflecting those dreadful metrics, was so bad that Arsenal signed ex-Brighton star, Mat Ryan on loan in January.
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The following summer, Arteta acted. Aaron Ramsdale arrived from back-to-back relegations, beginning spectacularly before cooling into consistency. At last, a long-term No.1, with Leno leaving for Fulham in the summer of 2022, to be replaced by Matt Turner. The saga was over.
Except it wasn't: it was just beginning. 2023 saw yet another goalkeeper signed, as Cana's original protege David Raya replaced Aaron Ramsdale between the sticks, the England international relegated to the bench for a year. Turner left for Nottingham Forest.
It's been a slog. It's been extremely odd. Arteta is bold in the transfer market and usually gets things spot on: almost every signing has been a success in one way or another, improving the floor or the ceiling of the squad. Except in goal. Each goalkeeper has the life expectancy of a double-0 agent, while keepers that Arsenal have got rid of – in Leno and Martinez – have gone on to become two of the best in the league since leaving.
All, the while, Arsenal have lost academy custodian Arthur Okonkwo for nothing, after he spent last year on loan at Wrexham and looked like a future star. Third-choice Karl Hein, meanwhile, has also run his contract down.
Is Arsenal's goalkeeping department… cursed? (Image credit: PA)
It can't go on. Luckily, it doesn't seem like it's going to, as per The Athletic.
Arsenal have made Raya's transfer permanent. Joan Garcia of Espanyol is being lined up for the backup spot – and he's a stylistic parallel to Raya, as a commanding presence claiming crosses and similar ability with his feet. They're now looking at bringing in an experienced third-choice, in Daniel Bentley from Wolves.
Hein has been retained with a view to a loan, with Okonkwo's younger brother, Brian, signing a new deal lately. Ajax's teenager Tommy Setford is on the radar, while Danish keeping prospect Lucas Nygaard has signed, too. All of a sudden, Arsenal have gone from a controversial debate between “two No.1s” and a confusing future for both, to a potential conveyor belt of talent between the sticks.
It all stems back to Cana, who apparently used to show clips of some unknown Blackburn Rovers teenager to bemused senior keepers and ask them to replicate his idiosyncrasies. Now, they're reunited, with that Rovers rookie the undisputed Arsenal No.1, following a Golden Glove in the Premier League.
Finally, consistency in a Gunners goal (Image credit: Alex Pantling/Getty Images)
It's proof of what made Arteta a hit at Arsenal. Only by giving the Basque free license to shape his squad as he saw fit, have the Gunners evolved into one of the best teams in the world under his tutelage. It seems anti-modern-football – but if one man can mould a club in his image, sometimes, an auteur is preferable to establishing a playing style.
The same is now happening in goal. Hopefully, the days of yearly goalkeeping signings are gone, replaced by a model that works for the entire club.
Now, if Arsenal could win trophies, that's just about everything on Arteta's ticklist.
Mark White is the Digital Content Editor at FourFourTwo. During his time on the brand, Mark has written three cover features on Mikel Arteta, Martin Odegaard and the Invincibles, and has written pieces on subjects ranging from Sir Bobby Robson’s time at Barcelona to the career of Robinho. An encyclopedia of football trivia and collector of shirts, he first joined the team back in 2020 as a staff writer.
