Temporary Arsenal goalkeeper Jens Lehmann is more than likely to leave the North London club this summer and return to action with Schalke 04, which would leave the Gunners a bit short of experience in the goalkeeping department. However, do Arsenal need an experienced pair of hands in the squad, or can we continue with what we’ve currently got?

Personally, I’m not entirely sure on this matter.

To be fair, Wojciech Szczesny has had a very good first season with Arsenal. The 21-year-old was instrumental in a lot of games for the Gunners – including the win over Barcelona at the Emirates in the Champions League – and I do feel if he didn’t get injured in that game, and obviously the ridiculous decision regarding RVP being sent off, we would have won that game.

I do feel the young Pole will be our number one next season, as he clearly stood out from Lukasz Fabianski and Manuel Almunia . However, he does have the tendency to make some errors, and yes, every keeper does (just look at Almunia for example) but I feel the games that he has made those mistakes in cost us dearly (the Carling Cup final springs to mind) where he and Koscielny got in a right pickle!

Szczesny’s injury didn’t help with his consistency. I feel if he didn’t get injured, things could have possibly been different – we wouldn’t have drawn to West Brom and wouldn’t have lost to Manchester United in the FA Cup. He made the defenders feel confident, unlike other goalkeepers in our ranks.

Szczesny is an excellent shot-stopper and has excellent positioning. However, on the downside, he is a bit irrational and runs out too early, just look at what happened against Spurs at White Hart Lane.

Lukasz Fabianski had an adequate season. Until suffering his shoulder injury, the 26-year-old Pole did have a few good games, but also a few bad ones. He will most certainly be the number two next season for the Gunners – I simply can’t see him returning as number one choice after the season Szczesny had.

I feel Fabianski is a good goalkeeper but is too error-prone to warrant the number 1 shirt. A few games last season, and the season before (Wigan), make me think that he won’t be seen to often next season. Undoubtedly, he is a good shot-stopper, but his positioning is far too poor for my liking, and I don’t think he can come and claim a ball, or catch a cross to well, whereas Szczesny can.

I definitely think that Manuel Almunia is our weak link in the squad. His time is surely up at the Emirates…he just isn’t good enough. The 34-year-old Spaniard has made too many mistakes over the years; Arsenal fans are simply tired of his tom foolery.

In my opinion, Almunia is a mid-table goalkeeper at best. I always think ‘Oh god’ whenever I see him on the team sheet. He doesn’t really seem to inspire the defenders, or communicate well with them. He actually worries me when he is in goal for us.

Anyway, to answer the question at hand – do we need an experienced pair of hands, or can we make do with the goalkeepers we’ve got? – Personally, I think we need to get another keeper on board, but who, that’s the question.

Almunia certainly needs to find another club. Manchester United reportedly replaced Edwin Van Der Sar with David De Gea, who is an excellent keeper in my view.

A keeper who I’d love to see at Arsenal is Shay Given.

The 35-year-old is an excellent shot-stopper who possesses excellent positional awareness, can claim a cross, communicates well with his defenders, and most importantly, has bags of experience under his belt. The Irishman would certainly relish the chance to play in the Champions League next season.

I feel the only thing that is stopping him from coming to Arsenal is the fact we can’t guarantee him first-team football, and it seems his preferred destinations is Celtic.

To be honest, I really can’t see any other goalkeeper coming to Arsenal this summer, so it looks like we’ll have to make do with what we’ve got.

Gunnersphere