Almunia Week: Manuel's best bits last season

Manuel Almunia has finished third in our Player of the Season poll. The Spanish goalkeeper received 10.4 per cent of the votes cast and we're dedicating this week to him on the club's official website.

Here, Arsenal.com reporter Chris Harris picks his Almunia highlights from the 2008/09 campaign.

BEST SAVE
From Carlos Tevez v Manchester United (a), Champions League
Known for his shot-stopping ability even before he established himself in the Premier League, it's no surprise that Manuel's first season as Arsenal's undisputed No 1 was littered with smart saves. He denied three men from the penalty spot alone - Obafemi Martins, Ashley Young and Murko Vucinic - but my pick is his stunning one-handed stop from Carlos Tevez in the Champions League Semi-Final at Old Trafford. Manchester United were rampant in the first 20 minutes and should have taken the lead when Cristiano Ronaldo and Tevez combined to leave John O'Shea in space down the right. He crossed low into the path of Tevez and the Argentine's first-time effort arrowed towards the corner. Almunia was slightly off-balance but somehow shifted his weight and plunged low to his left to keep the ball out. He was up like a flash to help Kolo Toure block the follow-up too. 

BEST SAVE YOU MIGHT HAVE FORGOTTEN
From Marco Motta v Roma (h), Champions League
A vital save at a pivotal point in the tie. Arsenal had swarmed all over Roma in the opening stages at Emirates Stadium with Samir Nasri pulling the strings and they eventually took the lead through Robin Van Persie's penalty. But just moments before the deadlock was broken, Almunia pulled off an incredible save to deny Marco Motta. The Giallorossi made a rare foray forward and Motta burst through from his right-back position. He let fly 25 yards out and was on the verge of wheeling away in celebration when Almunia flew across his goal to fingertip the ball away from the top corner and past the post. An away goal for Roma then would have made Arsenal's task considerably harder but their keeper kept his concentration and kept the scores level.

BEST PERFORMANCE
Manchester United (a), Champions League Semi-Final first leg
Without Manuel Almunia, Arsenal would have effectively been out of the Champions League much earlier than they were. The Spaniard single-handedly kept his team in business at Old Trafford after a storming start to the first leg by Manchester United. He clawed away Wayne Rooney's looping header in the second minute and made a stunning reflex stop to deny Carlos Tevez shortly afterwards. Almunia was beaten by John O'Shea but made another point-blank save from Cristiano Ronaldo to frustrate the holders. The Spaniard would rather have had a quiet night - and an away win - but this performance made Europe sit up and take notice of him. 

BEST MOMENT
Roma (a), Champions League penalty shoot-out victory
Manuel Almunia's post-match celebrations at the Stadio Olimpico were something to behold. And no wonder. The Spaniard won the war of nerves to emerge as one of Arsenal's heroes after an epic penalty shoot-out with Roma. The outlook seemed bleak when Eduardo's opening spot-kick was saved but, after one successful penalty each, Almunia cancelled out Roma's advantage. His save was hardly spectacular but it was certainly clever: as Mirko Vucinic strolled up he waited for Almunia to commit himself before slotting the ball down the middle of the goal. But the Spaniard checked his dive and held his position to block Vucinic's kick. Not for the last time, Almunia had kept Arsenal in Europe. 

BEST TRIBUTE
Arsène Wenger
When Jens Lehmann called time on his Arsenal career in 2008, there were calls for Arsène Wenger to invest in a front-line goalkeeper. The Frenchman refused. As far as Wenger was concerned, he already had one. Over the course of last season Manuel Almunia proved his manager right and, following a virtuoso display at Old Trafford in the Champions League, the Spaniard was described as the Premier League's best by Wenger. “In my opinion yes [he is the best],” said the boss. “He is at the period of his career where he has good decision making at the physical level to achieve what he sees and what he decides. Many goalkeepers get that right but they do not have the physical quality to do it well. At the moment he has. I rate Petr Cech, I don’t have a problem about the quality of Petr Cech but I think Manuel Almunia is now up there. I believe he [Almunia] is part of the cream of the Premier League and in the three or four that you find there.”

BEST QUOTE
Manuel Almunia was grinning from ear to ear after that epic penalty shoot-out triumph over Roma at the Stadio Olimpico. Arsenal had advanced to the last eight of the Champions League with the narrowest of victories but their Spanish goalkeeper was looking at the bigger picture. As far as Almunia was concerned, that glorious night in Rome would give Arsenal's youngsters the confidence and belief they needed to push on and lift trophies. "I think this kind of game can give you two years of maturity in one evening,” he said. “I think some players gained a lot of experience from it. From now I think they will realise they can be big players and we can face any team in Europe. We believe we can win the trophy and the young players will have taken a lot of belief from this. We have a lot of talented players but you also need confidence, belief and the right mental attitude."

 

[Wednesday, July 01, 2009]

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