Match Reaction Chelsea Away PL 2016-17 season

[selassie]

Ospina's shot stopping ability is below par? I don't see that. I think he's an excellent shot stopper, but is suspect in the other areas.

Agreed. I actually think Ospina is an excellent shot stopper but is pretty flakey when it comes to commanding his area, he doesn't inspire confidence aerially or when coming for crosses.

To be fair he has been very good this season but he still doesn't totally convince me, I just have that feeling he is one step away from a howler!

[Power n Glory]

Normally listen to Arseblog and occasionally footballistically Arsenal, not listened to this one before

It's much more analytical, however for the life of me why would anyone suggest playing Ospina over Cech.

Cech is not playing well at the moment, and it would probably be worth signing a younger and better replacement in the summer but Ospina is terrible, Cech gets beaten at his near post far too much but he still has the attributes of a top class keeper....Ospina doesn't, his ability at corners his ball distribution and generally his shot stopping is all below par.

It's because he's hardly played this season that his massive shortcomings haven't been on display.

He's had a few good outings this season and I think Cech needs to know that he's not untouchable. That's probably why it's been suggested. It's not a long term solution imo.

[Power n Glory]

Agreed. I actually think Ospina is an excellent shot stopper but is pretty flakey when it comes to commanding his area, he doesn't inspire confidence aerially or when coming for crosses.

To be fair he has been very good this season but he still doesn't totally convince me, I just have that feeling he is one step away from a howler!

What game was it where he saved our bacon?

[Herbert_Chapman's_Zombie]

He's had a few good outings this season and I think Cech needs to know that he's not untouchable. That's probably why it's been suggested. It's not a long term solution imo.

Frankly i worry every time Ospina plays, if i was to drop Cech (which i'm not in anyway against) i would play Emi Martinez who i really like and played a few games for us a couple of years ago.

[Niall_Quinn]

Problem is he tips shots away and parries shot that he should be able to claim

I think both our keepers have been badly exposed by the defence this season. Not to excuse their own individual goalkeeping errors, but the defence has been a shambles from day one. It's supposed to be the keeper working with the back four and vice versa but I very much see the keeper as isolated in our current defensive system and the four defenders individually isolated which compounds the problem. I see it coming back to the same thing - get rid of Wenger and bring in somebody who knows how to build a back five. I would expect to see more dominance from the keepers and far fewer mistakes because the pressure would be relieved across the board. The number of times we see Kos and Bellerin having to use extreme pace and last gasp challenges is silly. That's not defending, it's firefighting. This is without talking about the midfield which has all but given up shielding the defence.

It's a shambles and like the Ozil argument, the Xhaka argument, any player including the keepers, it's hard to really judge the quality and form of these guys because they are mostly trying to stay afloat.

[Niall_Quinn]

Frankly i worry every time Ospina plays, if i was to drop Cech (which i'm not in anyway against) i would play Emi Martinez who i really like and played a few games for us a couple of years ago.

You really think we should bring in an inexperienced keeper and ask him to cope with Wenger's bullshit? Recipe for disaster I think, and it would kill the kid's confidence in the process.

[Herbert_Chapman's_Zombie]

You really think we should bring in an inexperienced keeper and ask him to cope with Wenger's bullshit? Recipe for disaster I think, and it would kill the kid's confidence in the process.

He's 24 hardly a kid, and as he's not an outfield player he can't be corrupted by Wenger as easily....whether he succeeds or fails is totally up to him

[selassie]

What game was it where he saved our bacon?

One of the PSG games in CL? Or was it another one?

[Power n Glory]

One of the PSG games in CL? Or was it another one?

Could be. He game where he pulled off some amazing saves. It's quite a statement to drop a keeper but I think if he has a good game against Bayern he should get his shot.

[Marc Overmars]

Ospina has a touch of Almunia about him. Meek keepers with a penchant for Hollywood saves are always suspect, though sometimes you'll get games where their agility can get us out of trouble.

Cech is still a decent keeper despite his weakness at the near post. The error on the weekend was out of character so I'm not going to come down on him too hard for that, he could probably do with a reminder though that his position isn't completely secure.