Ospina - You have to remain cold-headed

David Ospina says his spell on the sidelines at the start of the season helped him adapt to life in England.

The Colombia goalkeeper suffered a thigh injury while helping his country reach the World Cup quarter-finals and had to wait until the end of September to make his Arsenal debut.

Ospina has since started the Gunners’ last six games and believes his recent form is a consequence of his summer setback.

“Having that time out when I was injured did help me to acquire a deeper knowledge of English football and how things work over here,” he said. “As regards to Arsenal, there are five or six that speak Spanish and another few that speak French which has helped me to settle in.

“What also helped me a lot was that I left Colombia at a really young age. I was 19 years old when I went to Nice. I played six seasons with them which helped me to mature and gain experience.

“When you are injured, it is a difficult period. But you have to remain cold-headed and work double or triple hard to get back into shape and back into the game as soon as possible."

Ospina is battling for the No 1 spot with Wojciech Szczesny and Emiliano Martinez - and he says the trio inspire each other.

“As a team, we do have a strong and healthy competition between myself, Wojciech and Emiliano so that is something that inspires us all to always be there and giving it 100 per cent in training sessions.

“In a team like Arsenal and this level, you need to have very good goalkeepers like you have in all the major football teams. Both goalkeepers really need to be ready to react very well. You need to be that prepared and committed so you can continue to play.”