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Arsenal's season under Unai Emery is set to begin this Sunday and given that the new boss has brought in goalkeeper Bernd Leno from Bayer Leverkusen, the Emirates is set to see a shake-up in between the posts this season.
Undoubtedly, all four goalkeepers would be fighting for a place in the starting eleven, but it would be interesting to see how Emery is going to utilise them throughout the season.
Let's have a look at the roles the goalkeeping corps at the Emirates will play this upcoming season:
#1 Petr Cech
Since he was famously brought in for £10m in a transfer-barren summer at the Emirates, Petr Cech remained the first-choice goalkeeper under Arsene Wenger. He didn't start badly at all with the 36-year-old experiencing highs and lows throughout his time in North London. However, last season saw a decline in Cech's performance as he worked his way down the curve to the point where Wenger gave David Ospina several minutes in the Premier League as well as Europa semi-final legs towards the end of the season.
Following the signing of Bernd Leno, the former Chelsea man will spend this season proving he still has what it takes to compete. He proved this during the pre-season friendlies, having saved a number of crucial shots: one against Atletico Madrid and two against Chelsea, denying Alvaro Morata and Ruben Loftus-Cheek.
Cech has not shied away from what is to come either, having stated, "for every player you do your best, then the manager has his choice to make”.
Cech also has legend David Seaman backing him for the No.1 position in the upcoming campaign. Seaman endorsed the goalkeeper saying, “Would I start the season with Cech? I think so... Emery will be watching in training and in the friendly games to see who is performing the best... But I would still go with Petr Cech.”
#2 Bernd Leno
A challenger to Petr Cech, Bernd Leno from Bayer Leverkusen moved to North London from Bayer Leverkusen for £19million earlier this summer.
With seven seasons of regular Bundesliga football under his belt, the arrival of the 26-year-old has cast serious doubt over the future of David Ospina, Emiliano Martinez and particularly Petr Cech as the first-choice keeper at the Emirates.
Leno has had a mixed reputation at Leverkusen, with critics particularly focussing on his mistakes in the last two seasons with the German side. While the German is incredibly adept with great reflexes, judging from his time at Leverkusen, his weaknesses lie in the inconsistency.
Despite criticism, Arsenal fans have mostly been optimistic and excited about the signing. And they would be happy to know that since the beginning of the 2014/15 season, only Manuel Neuer (56) has kept more clean sheets than Leno (45) in the Bundesliga.
Whether he will start during the game against Manchester City remains to be seen as Unai Emery has so far offered no insight as to the line-up this Sunday.
#3 David Ospina
Despite heavy links to Besiktas, David Ospina is on this list as he has been the ideal pick for Wenger when it came to Cup games and the Europa League. It’s fair to say that the Colombian has never looked convincing at the Emirates and he doesn’t exactly inspire the kind of confidence that Arsenal fans need at this point.
It is obvious that Leno and Cech will be competing for the first-choice spot with Emi Martinez as the resident third-choice keeper.
It is likely, however, that he will make the move to the Turkish side for a fresh start especially since his stock has fallen even further when Emery brought in German national Leno, possibly leaving him with lesser game time than before.
#4 Emiliano Martinez
Since joining Arsenal in 2010, Emiliano Martinez has only made 13 appearances in six years for the North London side and has been on loan at five other clubs.
Martinez has mostly been pegged as a third-choice goalkeeper after Cech and Leno but this changed during the pre-season.
The 25-year-old impressed fans during a gruelling training session last month, where the Argentine showed off an incredible one-handed save to deny Aubameyang's thunderous shot. Fans took to Twitter to praise the goalkeeper and even insisting that he should be Arsenal's first-choice keeper.
For the Argentine, this could be the season he proves himself as a competitive goalkeeper. With Ospina possibly heading to Besiktas and Matt Macey heading to Plymouth Argyle on loan, Martinez could see a lot of opportunity coming his way.
