Can this man become Arsenal’s No.1 again?

Fit again Lukasz Fabianski has issued a warning to Wojciech Szczesny, stating he is determined to win back his starting place in the Arsenal line-up.

Fabianski was Arsenal’s No.1 for the majority of last season until an injury ruled him out at the end of January, which effectively ended his season and pushed younger Pole Szczesny into the limelight.

Since his emergence into the first-team it has been hard to find fault Szczesny, who on a number of occasions has impressed – with the only exception being the Carling Cup final.

Szczesny has established himself as the new number one keeper at the club, with his form being impressive throughout the pre-season and into the first few games of the new campaign. Although Arsenal lost the last game against Liverpool, both goals were not that of Szczesny’s mistakes. In fact, he pulled off some great saves during the match, which kept Arsenal in the game.

Fabianski obviously now wants to try and get his place back in the Arsenal team, after only losing the position due to injury. However, if I were Arsene Wenger, I would find it very difficult to replace Szczesny, who has looked the part and really deserves to now be called Arsenal’s No.1. Fabianski may get to play some games this season, these being in the Carling Cup and FA Cup, but will this be enough for him? I’m not too sure. Hopefully these minor cup appearances will make him fight even harder to regain his position. However, in my opinion, with Szczesny on top of his game and looking impressive game in game out, Fabianski will have a real battle on his hands.

With Manuel Almunia likely to leave Arsenal before the end of the month, this will allow Vito Mannone, who has recently been targeted by Chievo, to become Arsenal’s third choice goalkeeper, assuming that he stays put and that the club do not go out and buy another shot-stopper.

In my opinion, Fabianski was unlucky to lose his place and pick up an injury which ruled him out for so long. However, for me anyway, I never really had the same confidence in him in goal as I do Szczesny, and I think the majority of Arsenal fans will agree that the best man for the job is the 22-year-old.

With Fabianski fighting for a first-team berth, it can only be a good thing at the club. We have two young keepers who are both prepared to fight for the role and hopefully they can both learn from each other as time rolls by.

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