Arsene's Young Gunz: The Assured and Not So Sure

Goalkeeper : Lukasz Fabianski During the 5-1 demolition job Tottenham Hotspur inflicted on Arsenal's second string in the semi-finals of the Carling Cup last season, Fabianski looked nervy and out of his depth. That experience was to act as a learning curve, though, as his recent performances prove. He is currently playing understudy to Manuel Almunia and captained a young side to a 3-0 scalping of Wigan Athletic in Tuesday evening's League Cup win. His continental style nearly cost Arsenal in the first half when he failed to collect box-bound balls, but he made amends with a fine double-save late in the second 45. He parried the first and reacted quickly to thwart Amr Zaki's follow-up strike. He has the potential to dominate the area but needs to learn when to come for the ball and when to sit back and allow his defence to clear, rather than get caught between two minds. At 23 years of age he is still fetal in goalkeeping terms. An opportunity to regularly try out as ... (link)