Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta faces goalkeeping dilemma in FA Cup clash against Portsmouth

Glove affair | Arsenal goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez has played in every round of the FA Cup so far
Arsenal FC via Getty Images
James Olley2 March 2020

It was an indication of how important Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta viewed the Europa League that goalkeeper Bernd Leno was drafted in for both matches against Olympiacos last month.

Both Arsene Wenger and Unai Emery designated different goalkeepers for cup competitions, the latter drawing particular criticism for persevering with Petr Cech all the way to last ­season’s final despite Leno establishing himself as first choice.

Emiliano Martinez had played in all six group-stage matches under Emery and interim boss Freddie Ljungberg, but Arteta introduced Leno for the last 32 tie without any equivocation.

Leno made several good saves in the first leg but while Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang took the brunt of criticism for a late miss in the return game, it was the Arsenal’s no1’s panicked clearance which allowed Olympiacos the chance to win the tie.

Under only modest pressure, Leno conceded a needless corner from which the winning goal came. It was not a howler but precisely the kind of “small details” Arteta has often talked about which make the difference in Europe.

In Pictures | Arsenal vs Olympiacos | 27/02/2020

1/22

Monday night's cup clash at League One Portsmouth is an ­awkward occasion as Arteta tries to get Arsenal back on track, with his principal job over the last three days to rebuild self-belief in a fragile group.

Goalkeepers are charged with ­instilling stability and so there must be a temptation to play Leno given his greater experience, yet Martinez will believe his season is effectively over if he does not play at Fratton Park.

Wenger, in particular, was usually happy to confirm his goalkeeper choice prior to FA Cup matches but Arteta kept his cards closer to his chest.

“I like to play the player I think is in the best condition for that game,” he said.

“If it is Emi, it is Emi, And if it’s Bernd, it’s Bernd. It’s the same with the right-backs or the centre-backs. Because they played on Thursday, I am not going to say ‘oh, they cannot play on Monday’.

“If I send that message to them, they are going to be tired, they are mentally not going to be prepared. It is not right. I could go individually like this with all the outfield players as well. This player played six games in the Europa League and now under me he didn’t start.

However, Bernd Leno was drafted in for both Europa League ties against Olympiacos
Getty Images

“I don’t make any difference between goalkeepers, full-backs, strikers, attacking midfielders. They are all the same. They are part of the squad.

“We try to make the decision based on who we believe is better to win that competition. Players have to respect that, fight and compete between them. And if I made a wrong decision, probably sometimes I will do.”

Leno has made a few wrong decisions of his own.

The Germany international is in an unwanted four-way tie at the top of a list of keepers with the most errors leading to goals since the start of last season. David De Gea, Jordan Pickford and Martin Dubravka have all made seven mistakes.

Martinez played in the previous two rounds and would expect to feature on Monday night, with Pablo Mari also a possible debutant and Eddie Nketiah in line for a recall up front.

Arteta has a delicate balancing act between trusting his squad and selecting a line-up to avoid what would be a first defeat at Portsmouth in 22 meetings — dating back to March 1958.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in