A little bit of Hart surgery could be just what Arsenal need

The Arsenal manager always seems to have questions put to him about potential signings. Most of the club’s fans are worried that they lack quality in certain parts of the team, and one of these is the goalkeeping position. A goalkeeper of Joe Hart’s quality is certainly worth taking a gamble on. Arsenal’s current goalkeepers, Manuel Almunia and Lukasz Fabianski are shaky to say the least, and with the impression Hart is making in the Premier League could Wenger be tempted to bring him to the Emirtaes?

A lot has been made about Wenger’s reluctance to sign English players during his tenure at Arsenal, but that has not been the case with the goalkeepers. David Seaman (who was already at Arsenal before Wenger came), Richard Wright and Stuart Taylor have all featured in the Frenchman’s era with the Gunners. Hart is one of the few English goalkeepers who are genuinely staking a claim to be part of Fabio Capello’s World Cup squad.  The form of Paul Robinson and Robert Green continues to fluctuate, and Hart’s consistency and temperament, considering he is on loan at Birmingham from Manchester City having been displaced by Shay Given, is admirable.

Much will depend on the state of Wenger’s two main goalkeepers and the potential of the club’s no.3, Vito Mannone, should Hart be a priority in the manager’s summer spending. Firstly, Manuel Almunia has never made any intention of wanting to leave Arsenal and if Hart was to be signed then surely it would be as a no.1, therefore dislodging Almunia of that status. The Pole Fabianski could be the one to lose out but Wenger is not one for losing patience with frustrating youngsters. The problem with Fabianski is that he has failed to make an impact between the posts whenever he has replaced Almunia. On the other hand Mannone, who is one year younger than Hart at 21, is said to be a capable goalkeeper and would probably be loaned out at worst. All in all, the most likely scenario for Hart to become Arsenal’s no.1 would be the intent of both parties.

Since the days of David Seaman Arsenal have struggled to hold down a no.1 who has been a consistent performer for a lengthy period of time. The only exception to this was the eccentric Jens Lehmann. Wenger is generally very protective of his players, and goalkeepers, but with there being a limited number of candidates in Europe, someone like Hart has all the ingredients to succeed. It is worrying for Arsenal that they have more than one suspect goalkeeper in their squad, and Wenger may have his judgment of goalkeepers come into question. If Hart’s performances are anything to go by then he could play a part in the Arsenal manager’s future plans. Considering class goalkeepers are hard to come by, Wenger would be wise to approach Joe Hart.