Arsene Wenger has paid tribute to former Gunner Manuel Almunia after he announced his retirement.
The 37-year-old spent eight years in north London between 2004 and 2012 but was this week forced to hang up his gloves due to a heart condition.
Almunia made 175 appearances during his time at Arsenal and Wenger hopes he will make a full recovery.
"It's very sad that he has a heart condition," the boss said. "I think he is at an age where you can accept that he retires from competitive professional football but I hope there's nothing bad for his future and his health.
"I gave him [more credit than others] because I played him. I think he was a great goalkeeper.”
Copyright 2024 The Arsenal Football Club Limited. Permission to use quotations from this article is granted subject to appropriate credit being given to www.arsenal.com as the source.