Lukasz Fabianski could have well played his last Premier League game on Sunday against Norwich as the Polish shot-stopper is unlikely to sign a new deal to remain at the Emirates.
If this proves to be the case and the 29-year-old does decide to call to leave then we will only be left with one first-team goalkeeper in Wojciech Szczesny.
Despite moments of immaturity and madness, Szczesny is seen by Arsene Wenger and the majority of the fans as Arsenal’s number one.
But Szczesny will almost certainly need someone to compete against for the gloves, and should he pick up injury during next season’s campaign then Wenger needs somebody to call upon and take the Poland international’s place.
We have been ‘interested’ in a number of ‘keepers in the past, such as Julio Cesar, Iker Casillas and Guillermo Ochoa to name but a few, but perhaps the obvious deal for Wenger to pursue is Maarten Stekelenburg.
The Dutch international didn’t have the best of seasons with recently relegated Fulham and lost his place in the side due to his form to David Stockdale. However, with the Cottagers preparing for life in the Championship next season, it’s hard to imagine Stekelenburg sticking around.
He boasts experience, has great reflexes and is a natural shot-stopper and is too good to be playing in England’s second tier of football.
Although the Dutchman still has three-years left on his existing contract, Should he puts in a transfer request (which he will more than likely do) then Fulham may well give him what he wants and let him leave.
Yes Stekelenburg suffered relegation this season and many may wonder why we should even bother with him, but the fact of the matter is the Dutchman is actually a very capable goalkeeper when on song – he was just at a poor club this time around.
We were linked with the 31-year-old a few years ago but failed to land him when he was at both Ajax and Roma. But maybe this time around we could actually get our hands on him.
We need a new goalkeeper for when Fabianski departs, and, in my opinion, it just makes sense for us to go for Stekelenburg rather than splash the cash on someone who doesn’t have Premier League experience.
