Manuel Almunia will leave Arsenal this summer after eight seasons at the club. His contract expires in June and apart from four on-loan appearances for West Ham, the former number 1 hasn’t played at all this campaign.
Almunia took over as Arsenal number 1 after some uncharacteristic early-season mistakes from Jens Lehmann, and despite showing some good shot stopping (and a very healthy penalty saving record) was never able to produce consistently enough to maintain his position.
He was ousted by Lukasz Fabiasnki who in turn found himself on the bench as Wojciech Szczesny emerged. The Spaniard is looking forward to finding a new club, ideally in England, and has spoken highly of his relationship with Arsene Wenger.
“I’m looking for a nice move next season,” he told Sky Sports News. “I want to start a new episode of my life.”
“It’s a very respectful relationship and now I’m free, I can do what I like and he’s happy with my work at Arsenal for ideas.”
Although a move back to Spain may well be on his mind, Almunia has half an eye on staying in London (probably the same half an eye he had on that Ronaldo free kick in the Champions League semi-final).
“I have got lazy to move too far,” he said, “because life here in London is fantastic and I hope I can have a club to go to next season so I can stay.”
To be fair to Almunia, he’s never complained [insert smart comment from readers here along the lines of: why would he?’]. Ultimately, it’s not his fault that he was never really good enough to be number 1 at Arsenal, and he hardly picked himself over 175 times.
However, with Lukasz Fabianki also eager to depart this summer once the European Championships are over, and Vito Mannone (currently on loan at Hull) unwillinging to sit on the bench, it means Arsene Wenger will have to augment his goalkeeping department in the close season.
A bit harsh to say he was never good enough. He was definitely a good number 1 for us for a season or two.
I thought he had a reasonable season/18 months when he first took over, but he never inspired confidence the way Jens did or Szczesny does now. Was always liable to drop a clanger. Or come out of his area to drop a clanger.
His first few seasons were solid if unspectacular, he only became a huge liability later on. 175 appearances was too much, but for approx. the first 70-100 of his appearances he was a good GK.
He was definitely good for moments of “what are you doing coming for that ball that late”
Almunia was a good number 2 keeper not a number 2.
Agreed. I thought he was better keeper than many gave him credit for. At least part of his problem was that our back line was – and is – always changing after years of consistency under TA,. Bouldy and Keown.
He was not the ‘Fawlty’ Manuel many made out. Good luck to him.
I understand that Man City are interested in adding to their collection of Arsenal
players
I had forgotten that he even existed…
So he’s been giving us ideas, has he? The strumpet.
Bring back Manninger!
I think Blogs is right. He wasn’t a bad keeper, and did have his confidence totally knocked back, but I agree that he was never good enough to be #1 for us at any time. There were at least several Premier League clubs that had a better keeper than us, and we were a top 4 side. He was far from Seaman’s level (obviously) and Lehmann’s before his form dropped.
Agreed. At his best, he was acceptable. Unfortunately, at his worst he was probably in the bottom 3 of the #1’s in the league at that point in time. I remember running through all the starting keepers with a mate and struggling to pick Alumnia over any of them with any confidence.
He cost us games. Obviously seems like a nice guy and wish him well wherever he goes, as long as it is not against us.
Spanish goalkeepers always seem to be excellent shot-stoppers while relatively poorer in the air. In all fairness that is how La Liga plays out too. Let’s not forget how good Almunia was against Barcelona.
What about English keepers? Joe Hart’s biggest weakness is coming for corners or deep crosses. Paul Robinson’s? After dealing with bobbling balls from rat-faced fullbacks that I hate myself for loving now that they are a fantastic pundit, his second biggest weakness is the same. Did you see Ben Foster yesterday; he had luck on his side! I just think most keepers are terrible, but some are less terrible than others. It’s a nearly impossible job, and we have seen some keepers who go on an unbelievable run of form and luck and stability in front of them, like Petr… Read more »
Paul Robinson’s biggest weakness is his enormous fat arse
That was an awesome display..
hmmmmmmm.
I’m always amazed when I see how many games this guy got for us. We went through some dark days on the goal keeping front. The year we finished 4 points behind in the league I’m sure his clangers cost us 9. He was always only a likeable back up, who somehow racked up a ridiculous number of games. Fact is, he can stay in London whether he gets a job or not seeing as we’ve put millions in his coffers. I do wish him well, but his ‘next chapter’ seemed a long time coming. Thank fuck for Chezzer, the… Read more »
When I first saw the headline I smiled to myself and laughed.
I thought yeah maybe as a sight seeing guide.
But you know what Blogs is right he probably is a nice enough fella….. You dont ever here him moan ….no bad press reports throughout his career with us.
And most importantly he always tried even if he wasnt quite up to the standard,. I have seen others with more talent try a lot less harder than Almunia.
I wish him well hope he gets a club and stays in london if thats what he wants.
also,i believe no one would complain when they have a boss like arsene wenger.he gives his players huge respect and it is obvious they give it back.
No no, I want him far far away from any football stadium.
South Pole perhaps.
You can stay if you want, but I think your ship has set sail as far as the arsenal number 1 spot is concerned, why not go enjoy yourself in sunny mallorca for the final parts of your career?
Who in London is gonna pick him up? Name 1 team in the EPL that would have Almunia as their #1!
He’s a good back-up and doesn’t really complain but he’s not good enough to be a #1 at a club like Arsenal and he’s never gonna displace an established #1 from any team.
I wish him well and thank him for his scattered excellent performances and won’t forget the many goals he was responsible for giving up.
Spurs’ll have him…
Good luck etc. Now just switch the standing order paying his salary over to RVP’s account and the job’s a good un.
Look forward to more volunteers coming forward to help top up the Keep RVP fund.
“Arsene Wenger will have to augment his goalkeeping department in the close season.”
Damien Martinez (touted youngster at club) and Butland (touted youngster at another club)
“Almunia wants to stay (in london)”………………..and i want him to stay away from our goalposts. So it works.
Staying away from our goalposts was half the problem with him.
Haha, so true.
I know of a good B&B in London.
He wants to learn how to stay in his area, then he can think about staying in London
If he wants to stay in London I could suggest either that other team in North London, or maybe Chelsea.
Alledgedly he’s on over £35k a week, so it’s nice to get that off our wage bill.
I’ll never forget that first half against Barca followed by a hilarious Almunia “WHERE’RE YA GOING?!?!?!” moment 20 seconds later.
Also – 175 appearances?? Christ.
I never forgave the yellow haired ghost seeing keeper for the two soft goals he let in the final of CL against Barca. I wish him all the best trying to find anybody to take him on but one thing is for sure though, he will never be on the same money that we foolishly paid him for his “services”.
Sorry guys but I refuse suck the Almunia cock. He’s a fucking shit cunt, and while it’s not his fault for playing 175 times for us, it is however his fault for consistently being shit and getting the trots anytime the ball went near him.
Good riddance, best of luck in la liga B or whatever the fuck it’s called in Spain.
He really isn’t that bad a goalkeeper, but he isn’t near top 4 standard. He could definitely do a decent job for a promoted side.
A tenner he goes to sp*rs. They love a player or two from us.
“Arry ain’t no Einstein, but he ain’t that dumb!
With his documented writing problems he probably thinks he has signed Alhabsi
He wouldn’t do that to us. Whatever you think of him he loves our club. He did good for us for a season or two but he just doesn’t have the self confidence and blatant eccentricities that a top keeper needs.
This is the best news ive heard since our last victory!
He might be a nice enough chap like blogs said, but this guy is/was my Denilson, Ramsey, Squillacci combined, no matter what he did I couldnt stand him, to me he was the sole reason we hadn’t won a trophy for so long!
But I now obviously realise how wrong I was but i still can’t stand him.
Adios Amigo’s & never ever ever comeback.
Ps: Thanks for the thumbs down, it’s appreciated!
I am looking forward to a keeper shake up, in the back up deptt, especially with the new 25 man rule, I think we are wasting a place in the squad wof 25 with a non home grown Fab sitting on the bench, y not get an english keeper and he would make more sense in the 25 member squad…….Paul Robinson should be fine……….or else a good bright U 20 who doesn’t need registering, and we can then use the plus one we get on the non English quota to spend on an outfield player.
I was with you right up until you mentioned that ex-spud. Why the fuck would we want to sign him? We should only sign ex-spuds when they’re truly excellent players who have had the misfortune of playing with a cock on their chest. Like Pat Jennings, or Sol Campbell.
Well The Only Reason I mentioned Robinson is that after Hart and Krul I think he is the best home grown keeper going around at the moment, also would fit our pockets at this stage of his career, and might even be happy to be on the bench without too much of complaining.
I would by happy with any other keeper who would fit the aforementioned requirements though.
This alone disqualifies him from being an Arsenal keeper ever again:
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2009/02/25/article-1155546-03AABC02000005DC-21_468x606.jpg
hahaha, no man should have a dog that he can punt more than 3 yards
hahaha what the fuck is that all about
“I have got lazy to move too far.”
Well now we know the reason for him conceding sloppy goals.
On a serious note, good luck wherever you go (Except when you come up against The Arsenal).
Reserves have a great kid in Martinez. Expect him to start figuring in the first team soon..but loan for him next season I guess.
Hence I dont think Wenger will be investing in GKs soon.
Well Manuel, there’s always, uh, Leyton Orient?
Up the mighty O’s, love watching them play when Arsenal are away from home. You have to support your local, local team aswell no?
Re Almunia, I think his problem (aside from small, pink , fluffy dogs) is that he was too ‘normal’ to be a top quality goal keeper. Think of all the best we’ve had and they’ve all had their huge eccentricities (Seaman – loved getting married, Lehmen – public urination and general madness) what did Almunia have? he was too nice and normal imho.
Good luck to him where ever he ends up.
The best thing Almunia can do for us is join Sp*rs.
If he ever plays against us, he’ll have a blinder and look a world beater for 90mins!
Almunia was an adequate number two. Let’s be honest: you’re not gonna get Gordon Banks as a stand-by goalie. Your reserve keeper is never gonna be that great. As the bloke who played in the League Cup and sometimes came on whenever Lehman dislocated his thumb, the blondie wasn’t too bad. And he had a few highlights, notably that night against Barcelona. The nightmare began at the start of last season when Wenger lost his marbles and decided to promote Manuel to number one, then all of our Spanish friend’s frailties were quickly and brutally exposed. Luckily, Chez came to… Read more »
To be fair to Almunia, I think he suffered from the same problems as a lot of goalkeepers at the biggest clubs: Lack of concentration for 90mins. It takes a higher degree of concentration to play in goal for a team that tends to dominate possession and have most of the chances. In many ways, it’s easier to look better as a goalkeeper when you’re constantly busy, because you have to be switched on all the time. It’s why distinctly average ‘keepers often look good at lower-table clubs, and it’s no surprise that Almunia’s best games for us were the… Read more »
the good think about Szczesny is he is a sweeper keeper ,He makes a lot of passes and he gets out of his area so often to saay head the ball infront of Suarez or Kick Ashley in the nuts ,He is always busy. we’ve missed a crazy keeper
He is a guy that shares some characterstics with Venger. When you see him concede what could have been easily saved goals, he will get up and shout at his defence and such.
He never admits to his mistakes. Always blame others is his mojo, and so does his boss.
May be that is why Venger kept him this long and big up his attitude. For him its like watching himself through the mirror.
I was so furious with him last season, if you all remember
That lucky bastard,
Sorry meant good number 2 not a good number 1. Although he did have 1 good season for us
The Myles Palmers of the world will tell you he was always a clown, but his best season came in 07/08 when he took over for the then-finished Lehmann. His fall into clowny oblivion came around the time Mikael Silvestre joined the backline. I cant fault the GK too much for being sucked into that defending blackhole.
When a keeper is hilarious – there’s problems. I cannot forgive the champions league performance though, a gift and an own goal utterly negating any good he did the rest of the game. Sums up his arsenal career really.
So instead you’re sucking all the cocks of those who slated Almunia. Wow. That’s original. That’s a lot of cock in your mouth at one time. And the worst part is that it’s a load of ungrateful cock, like the kind you prefer. Wouldn’t you like it better if they thanked you?
Nobody’s saying Almunia is anything more than a good back-up who had a decent spell for us. I’m not sure where your reaction comes from. Anal sores?
Uh, this was supposed to be in reply to “Cynical Cunt” above.
His reaction comes from being a self-professed Cynical Cunt. I thought that was rather obvious.
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I just read the article again……….
““It’s a very respectful relationship” ………………… yay atleast he respects the club good to know ………………. “and now I’m free, I can do what I like……………” ……………..eh wtf !!
Its like saying I really love my girlfriend, but I am free (Images of arms in the air wild running running around), I am free I am free I can do what I want………..
At least hes of the wage bill, i agree with mooro give RVP the money and good luck to him were ever he goes
aaah, Manuel, our blonde streaked metallic friend.
I agree with the point he was a number 2, unfortunately too crap for us toilet him play, he needs to make a motion towards a stool, and rest up before he gets flushed.
If manuel truly wants to stay in London, the Landlord at a pub i was in said he was desperate for a number 2, but he disappeared before i could give his agents details………..
It will be ironic if he ended up retiring at Arsenal…
it’s almost as if i was imagining the chants of “England’s No1” that used to ring around teh Grove in praise of our shotstopping Spanish waiter er genius how fucking odd. did anyone else experience that aural hallucination? almunia was/is a fine goalkeeper. all this re-writing of history (“I always said blah blah blah”) is typical of all football fans as well, it has to be said i’d not be surprised if manuel goes on to have an indian summer in the style of brad friedel, who was supposedly shot after being shunted out at liverpool. of course he is… Read more »