The Daily Express reported yesterday that Arsenal are looking at a £12m move for Genoa’s Italian goalkeeper Mattia Perin to replace under-fire Wojciech Szczesny.
According to the report, Wenger is now looking for a new goalkeeper to replace Szczesny following his recent blunders (both on and off the pitch) and Mattia Perin has moved to the top of his list ahead of Malaga’s Guillermo Ochoa (which in itself is a bit of a weird mention as he only moved to Malaga in the summer).
Anyway – what to make of this.
There is no question that Perin is a quality goalkeeper.
He’s 22 years of age and has been dubbed the next ‘Gigi Buffon’ – which on one hand is a fantastic compliment but on the other is actually logical as he quite literally the next Gigi Buffon for the Italian team (Perin is the understudy). But you get the point. If Wenger was looking for a new goalkeeper, Perin would be near the top of the list.
But Wenger isn’t actively looking.
Wenger will be completely aware of Perin and his reputation, but Szczesny is a player that Wenger brought to the club at a young age and that he has invested in ever since. Wenger won’t jettison the Pole at any point in the near future. He will drop him from time to time yes and that’s absolutely right – but it will take much more than a cigarette and a few mistakes for Wenger to get rid of someone he has spent so much time moulding into Arsenal’s number 1 (For more on that – this article is really good).
Just last week Wenger said:
“We have three goalkeepers who for me are top class and there is a big competition going on”
And they don’t seem like words to suggest that:
A) Szczesny will be leaving any time soon (unless his father keeps on stirring).
B) With Ospina and Martinez knocking on the door – that Wenger would even look to replace Szczesny from outside the club if he did leave.
So basically – don’t expect another major goalkeeper signing any time soon.