Arsenal Women boss Jonas Eidevall has talked up the options he now has at his disposal in goal after the arrival of Canadian goalkeeper Sabrina D’Angelo in the January transfer window.
D’Angelo has played in the Conti Cup victories against Aston Villa and Manchester City with a pair of commanding performances. Austrian ‘keeper Manu Zinsberger has been the undisputed number 1 since Eidevall was appointed in the summer of 2021.
With her contract expiring in the summer, D’Angelo’s presence looms large but Eidevall talked up the optionality of having two strong but quite different goalkeepers to call upon.
“Manu has been very good this season, she keeps a lot of clean sheets,” Eidevall explained. “For me, Sabrina has got off to a very, very good start with two strong performances against Villa and Manchester City.
“That is what I want, to have options. They are two different goalkeepers that are good at different aspects of the game. I hope they will benefit a lot from that.
Sabrina D’Angelo vs Manchester City #ContiCup pic.twitter.com/fMm8M5mYWR
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“I hope it helps them to develop too to see the other keeper’s strengths.” Eidevall went onto explain that he doesn’t see why goalkeeper should be different to the outfield players when it comes to having versatility and options.
“But it gives the team options. Very much like we have with the full-back situation. We have excellent players and they are a little bit different, it is the same with the central defenders. With Jen Beattie as well, she is probably the strongest player we have in the air.
“When she can face forward with the duels that is the perfect timing for her to come into the game like she did against City. There will be a time and place for everyone.”
Zinsberger’s off in the summer you would assume. Makes a nice change that we’ve made a signing in advanvce, giving D’Angelo a bit of time to settle in, rather than reacting in panic to a squad need on deadline day…