Goalkeeper Vito Mannone continued his development in the Football League last season with a second loan spell at Championship side Hull City.
Having enjoyed a successful period with the Tigers in the 2010/11 campaign, Vito returned to the KC Stadium in January 2012 and played a prominent role thereafter. The Italian kept nine clean sheets in 11 league matches until March, playing 23 times as the Yorkshire club finished narrowly outside the play-offs.
Vito Mannone Profile |
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| Born |
March 02, 1988
Desio, Italy |
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| Position: |
Goalkeeper |
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| Squad Number: |
24 |
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| Previous Club(s) |
Hull City (loan), Barnsley (loan), Atalanta |
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| Arsenal Debut |
May 24, 2009 |
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Prior to that, Vito had spent the first half of the season at Arsenal although first-team opportunities were limited behind Wojciech Szczesny and Lukasz Fabianski.
But after injury to the latter at Olympiacos in the Champions League, the young goalkeeper stepped in to make his solitary appearance of the campaign for Arsene Wenger’s side.
Vito joined Arsenal from Atalanta in 2005 and it was not long before he enjoyed his first taste of action in the Championship with Barnsley in the 2006/07 season.
The following season he became a regular around the first team and, learning from Manuel Almunia and Fabianski, made his debut against Stoke City in May 2009.
But it was the 2009/10 campaign where Vito really impressed, most notably with an outstanding display at Fulham which saw the Italian's stock rise rapidly. He lost his place when Almunia recovered from injury but he emerged from that eight-game stint a more confident, commanding presence between the posts.
Vito Mannone's Arsenal Career
|
| |
Prem Lge |
Europe |
FA Cup |
Lge Cup |
Total |
| Season |
Apps |
Goals |
Apps |
Goals |
Apps |
Goals |
Apps |
Goals |
Apps |
Goals |
| 2008-2009 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
| 2009-2010 |
5 |
0 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
8 |
0 |
| 2011-2012 |
0 |
0 |
0 + 1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 + 1 |
0 |
| 2012-2013 |
9 |
0 |
4 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
13 |
0 |
| Total |
15 |
0 |
7 + 1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
22 + 1 |
0 |
My Year
- 2012/13
- 2011/12
- 2010/11
- 2009/10
- 2008/09
August
Vito stepped in for the goalless draw against Stoke after Wojciech Szczesny picked up a rib injury before the game, keeping a clean sheet. “I felt ready because I had a good pre-season, played my games and it feels like a fresh start with Arsenal," said the Italian. “I thought I had a really good spell at Hull last year and it gave me a lot of confidence." September
Vito made four appearances in September, and started the month with a clean sheet against Liverpool at Anfield. The goalkeeper spoke of the competition for the No 1 jersey at Arsenal, saying: "It’s a good fight between the keepers because we know the level is quite high and you need to keep working and improve yourself to get the first spot." October
Vito continued in goal during October, starting every game except the Capital One Cup tie at Reading. November
Vito made three appearances at the beginning of the month. He was named as Arsenal’s man of the match against Manchester United. December
Vito was named on the bench on five separate occasions during December. January
Vito did not feature in January, despite being named on the bench six times. February
Vito was named on the bench for all of Arsenal’s fixtures over the course of the month. March
Vito was named on the bench against Tottenham Hotspur and Bayern Munich. April
Vito was named on the bench for all five of Arsenal’s fixtures in April.
August
Vito didn’t feature during the month of August. September
Vito did not feature during September, suffering injury while playing in Arsenal Reserves' 3-1 win at Wigan in August. October
Vito did not feature for Arsenal during the month. November
Vito did not feature for the first team. December
Vito made his first appearance of the season in the 3-1 defeat to Olympiacos, replacing Lukasz Fabianski after 25 minutes. January
Vito returned to Hull City on loan and featured four times for Nick Barmby's side over the course of the month. February
Vito featured three times over the course of the month for Hull City and kept three clean sheets. "Mentally he's got everything you need. He's very, very meticulous in everything he does. He's got a good presence too. He's also a great person to have on the training ground because his enthusiasm is infectious," Hull goalkeeping coach Gary Walsh said. March
Vito remained Hull's No 1, making eight appearances for the Tigers in a busy Championship month. April
Vito continued to hold down the No 1 spot as Hull finished their Championship campaign in eighth place. The Italian made six appearances during the month.
August
Vito kept a clean sheet for the Reserves in their 5-0 win over Bolton but did not feature for the first team in August. September
Vito didn’t feature for the first team in September. October
Vito joined Championship side Hull City on loan until January 2011 during October. November
Vito made his debut for Hull against Preston on November 13. He went on to make three starts throughout the rest of the month, keeping two clean sheets. December
Vito made a further four starts for Hull during December and helped the Tigers climb the Championship table with a number a good performances. January
Vito didn’t feature for Hull due to a thigh problem in January. May
Vito returned to Arsenal following his loan spell at Hull, where he made ten appearances.
August
With Lukasz Fabianski injured, Vito started the season as Manuel Almunia's deputy on the Arsenal bench. September
Vito played four first-team games in September, including his European debut in the 3-2 win at Standard Liege. He kept clean sheets in each of his other three appearances and won plaudits for his performance against Fulham, which he described as the best game of his career. Arsène Wenger awarded Vito "10 out of 10" for the display. "He kept us in the game in some unbelievable situations," said the Arsenal manager. October
Vito enjoyed an extended run in the Arsenal first-team, playing in four of the Gunners' six October fixtures despite the return to fitness of Manuel Almunia. November
Vito didn't feature for Arsenal in November but kept a clean sheet in Italy Under-21s' 4-0 win over Luxembourg. He also played in their 2-0 defeat against Hungary. December
Vito didn't feature for Arsenal in December but was selected on the Gunners bench for the games against Manchester City and Olympiacos. January
Vito signed a new long-term contract with Arsenal in January. Shortly after putting pen to paper, the 21-year-old spoke to Arsenal.com. “It's a great day for me, a great moment," he said. "I'm really happy to be staying at Arsenal Football Club and will give everything to repay the Club for the faith they have shown in me. Every day when I go on the training pitch I try to show everyone that I'm the best. It's normal - every goalkeeper does that. I'm not working for nothing; I'm working to achieve something." February
Vito Mannone was on the Arsenal bench for the UEFA Champions League clash away to Porto and kept a clean sheet as the Reserves beat Stoke 1-0 to move closer to Aston Villa at the top of Premier Reserve League South. March
Vito helped Arsenal Reserves defeat Birmingham City 3-1 at Barnet's Underhill Stadium in March but he did not feature for the first team. April
Vito featured on the Arsenal bench in the Premier League matches against Wigan and Tottenham and started the Reserve-team clash with Aston Villa. May
Vito featured on the substitutes' bench in Arsenal's final two games of the season, against Blackburn Rovers and Fulham.
September
September was a bit of a mixed bag for Vito. The Italian was chosen ahead of Wojciech Szczesny for the Reserves’ fixtures against Portsmouth and Aston Villa. Arsenal ran-out 1-0 winners at Pompey and they owed a lot to Mannone who pulled off a string of fine saves but it was a different story against Villa at Underhill. The visitors inflicted a 4-1 defeat on Banfield’s boys, the most goals that the Reserves have conceded in a match since a 6-0 thrashing at the hands of Reading in 2006. May
May is a month that will live long in Vito’s memory. On Sunday 24th, on the final day of the season, the Italian made his long-awaited first-team debut in Arsenal’s 4-1 victory against Stoke.
