Recently the media have linked Liverpool with a move for Roma goalkeeper Alisson, but with Loris Karius’ rise and Petr Čech’s decline, should Arsenal hijack the transfer?

Alisson is drawing a lot of interest from all around Europe at the moment. Most recently, Real Madrid have entered the fray, and are reportedly considering a £52.25m bid. New stories about the keeper going to Liverpool seem to emerge on a daily basis.

So why is the Brazilian getting so much attention?

The 25-year-old is a bit of an all-rounder in goal. He consistently performs well in one on one situations, but he also does well with long-shots.

His reflexes are also one of his strengths, and he’s quick off his line to deal with danger. As well as that, he keeps his focus well and distributes the ball effectively.

Comparing him to Arsenal’s current first choice keeper this season, there’s hardly any contest.

Alisson hasn’t made any mistakes leading to goals this campaign, whilst Čech is now up to six. The former Internacional keeper has a greater distribution accuracy (83% vs 71%) despite also sending the ball longer on average (41m vs 36m).

He’s making more than twice as many saves per goal (3.83 vs 1.61) and catches the ball more often, whilst also punching it less.

This season, at least, Čech doesn’t really have anything going in his favour.

szczesny alisson
Alisson (right) alongside former Arsenal goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny (Photo: Luciano Rossi / Getty Images)

Alisson apparently refused a new deal to try and force a move this summer. The proposed extension included a buy-out clause of £71m, so it’s lucky he rejected it.

His value is only going to keep going up after clean sheets against Atletico Madrid and Chelsea in the Champions League group stages, followed by another couple of starring performances in the last-16.

Arsenal turned down the chance for a Szczesny return to watch Čech and Ospina struggle this season. Hopefully they can land Roma’s new star keeper this time around.

 

Here is a video of Alisson in action: