Arsene Wenger yet to solve his goalkeeper problem

11 April 2012
Porto 2-1 Arsenal

There are very few things Arsene Wenger has left to prove in football but it is difficult to escape the conclusion that a sound judgement in goalkeepers is one of them.

Lukasz Fabianski's latest calamitous display cements the belief he falls short of the required standard at a top European club — an accusation regularly levelled at Arsenal's No1 Manuel Almunia.

Never has a player moved so quickly through the waiting throng of journalists, desperately seeking the salvation of the team bus, where Cesc Fabregas claimed his team-mates would be waiting to console him.

Fabianski was chosen at random after the game as one of the two players to undergo a mandatory drug test but anyone watching here at the Estadio do Dragao could have saved UEFA the trouble. "Performance-enhanced" he was not.

The contrast with Edwin van der Sar's heroic performance in Manchester United's 3-2 win at AC Milan on Tuesday was marked, as Fabianski turned Silvestre Varela's 11th-minute cross into his own net before a comical sequence of events handed Porto a 2-1 advantage to take to Emirates Stadium in three weeks' time.

Sol Campbell, who had equalised after 18 minutes with a close-range finish from Tomas Rosicky's header, attempted to shepherd the ball back to Fabianski, who showed little interest in taking control of the situation.

As Campbell came under pressure, he toe-poked the ball back to his goalkeeper, only to see the 24-year-old pick it up.

Referee Martin Hansson, the Swedish official who missed Thierry Henry's handball for France against Ireland, gave the indirect free-kick and Fabianski immediately surrendered the ball, allowing Ruben Micael the opportunity for a quick pass to Falcao, who sidefooted home with Arsenal's rearguard all at sea.

Once the mistake had been made, any experienced goalkeeper would have held onto the ball — risking at worst a yellow card — to allow his team to regroup but his genial manner cost the Gunners dear. Fabianski's rap sheet is growing.

He was culpable in the FA Cup defeat at Stoke, while he almost single-handedly cost Arsenal a place in the final of the same competition with two errors in last season's 2-1 defeat by Chelsea.

There is an uncertainty in his performance that breeds fear among his defenders and his lack of presence mirrors that of Almunia and third-choice Vito Mannone, who delivered one good display against Fulham but otherwise failed to convince.

Wojciech Szczesny has potential and, at 19-years-old, he can be omitted from the overall picture but Arsenal's collection of goalkeepers appears a major weakness both in challenging for honours and Wenger's judgement.

Having enjoyed the fortuitous inheritance of David Seaman upon joining Arsenal, with the possible exception of the eccentric and often infuriating Jens Lehmann, Wenger is yet to sign a goalkeeper whose credentials are unquestionable.

The decision not to play Almunia in Portugal also warrants scrutiny. The Spaniard was given an injection in a problematic finger to enable him to face Manchester United, while he played through the pain against Chelsea and Liverpool.

Almunia wanted to play in last night's game but Wenger's reasoning to omit him was bizarre. Amid vague claims that Almunia had suffered a second injury to the same finger, the Frenchman said: "The ball flies so much, particularly the Champions League ball, you need that flexibility in the finger to parry it."

Arsenal have now lost four of the six matches in which Fabianski has started, conceding 12 goals in the process, and Wenger was left to defend his player and rue a goal whose legitimacy, despite his best efforts, is undeniable.

"I do not want to come out individually on Lukasz's performance and judge him in front of everybody," said Wenger.

"You have to accept you lose as a team and win as a team. Any individual performance has not to be analysed publicly.

"The second goal is laughable. It is not defendable from the referee and it is difficult to understand. Has he ever played football? If he has played I don't see how he can explain to me how we can defend it.

"If our goalkeeper keeps the ball then it is anti-play but if he gives the ball then they score. How can you stop it?

"It is better than a penalty. It was unbelievable that he allowed Porto to play straight away."

The furore surrounding Fabianski disappointingly overshadowed Campbell's impressive return to the Champions League, nearly four years after scoring on his last appearance in the competition, in the 2006 final defeat by Barcelona.

On his 200th appearance for Arsenal, the 35-year-old was caught for pace on a couple of occasions but gave a largely composed display, aside from the confusion surrounding the winning goal which, in any case, was more of his goalkeeper's engineering.

"We are still in the tie," said Wenger. "We have a chance to turn things around and I am convinced we will do it."

The damage is not irreversible, as there was enough evidence to suggest that Porto are defensively suspect themselves and far from certain to qualify from an advantageous position that would be surrendered with the concession of a solitary unanswered goal.

But to have one suspect goalkeeper on the books is unfortunate. To have three is just careless.

Spot the difference: Arsene didn't see anything wrong when Henry pulled off quick free-kick trick for his side

Arsene Wenger's fury over Porto's second goal led him to claim "I have never seen that and I have been in the game a long time" — neatly ignoring Thierry Henry twice scored with quick free-kicks while with Arsenal.

Both were outside the area — unlike the effort last night — but Porto coach Jesualdo Ferreira felt the Gunners got what they deserved.

"It was a legal goal, one born out of the intelligence of a Porto player," said Ferreira. "Henry did the same thing for Arsenal. If the goal wasn't legal then we could discuss the thing another way, but the law permits it."

'It was a strange goal, I accept that. Whether it was fair or not, good or not, I don't know'
Wenger
18/01/2004

'I feel that it is an intelligent exploitation of the rules. The keeper has to adapt as well'
Wenger
12/12/2004

'The goal is laughable. It is not defendable from the referee and it's difficult to understand'
Wenger
Last night

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