Jeepers Keepers

Sabrina D’Angelo started Arsenal’s 2-2 draw with Manchester United last week. Many interpreted this as a vote of no confidence in Manu Zinsberger but I don’t believe that to be the case. During pre-season I wrote about the goalkeeping situation as one of my three things to watch for this season.

The idea of the rotation policy is based on the attributes of each goalkeeper, as Jonas Eidevall told Arseblog News earlier this year. “They are two different goalkeepers that are good at different aspects of the game. I hope they will benefit a lot from that. I hope it helps them to develop too to see the other keeper’s strengths.” The selection of D’Angelo against Manchester United was because Arsenal’s game plan centred around counterattacking.

D’Angelo gets greater distance on her long kicks and is more proactive, she likes to collect crosses and restart play quickly with either a long kick or long throw. She is often used against high pressing or more attacking teams as a result. When Arsenal play deeper defensive blocks, they use Zinsberger because of her superior short passing and her ability to play like an 11^th outfield player when a more patient approach is required.

A look across some of the other ‘big four’ teams in the WSL shows a similar approach from other clubs. Chelsea swap between Musovic and Ann Katrin Berger. Berger is probably the finest ‘traditional’ goalkeeper in the world but is often found wanting in possession. Musovic is a good shot stopper but far more error prone than Berger but she is a better footballer.

Hayes swings back and forth between the two depending on what she thinks the situation calls for. Manchester City coach Gareth Taylor left Sandy MacIver on the bench against Chelsea, Ellie Roebuck didn’t make the squad while 19-year-old Khiara Keating got the nod. Their goalkeeping situation is, at least for the time being, in some flux too.

Arsenal are not an outlier in their approach. However, Manchester United have a different situation. Since signing Mary Earps in 2019 she has been their undisputed number 1, seeing off competition from the likes of Emily Ramsey and Sophie Baggaley in the process. Earps has also established herself as England’s undisputed number 1 since Sarina Wiegman’s appointment in 2021.

It is hard not to feel as though those factors are connected. While, on paper, a horses for courses approach in goal makes a lot of sense, in practice goalkeepers often need the security and consistency of being the regular number 1. Arsenal tried to buy Mary Earps this summer after all.

Manu Zinsberger’s best period of form during her four and a bit seasons at Arsenal was undoubtedly Eidevall’s first season, in 2021-22, when he did not rotate the goalkeepers. Just a few weeks into his reign I asked Eidevall about his approach to the position and, at the time, he said he favoured a more defined number 1.

Of course, there are other considerations. Back in 2019 I spoke to Joe Montemurro about his goalkeeper rotation policy. At the time, he had a similar philosophy to the one Eidevall currently deploys. He used Manu Zinsberger in games where short possession was required and Pauline Peyraud-Magnin when he wanted to go over an opponent’s press.

A part of Montemurro’s reasoning was that he didn’t want players who felt disengaged or disconnected from the group and he felt having a very defined second choice goalkeeper ran that risk. There was a quote from Joe that didn’t make the piece but he said to me, “I’ve never had a squad with one unhappy player. Once one player is unhappy, pretty soon you have a pocket.”

His idea about rotating goalkeepers wasn’t just about being nice but that it served the wider group dynamic. While there probably is a distinction at international level, Ellie Roebuck and Hannah Hampton have not exactly gone from strength to strength growing cold in Earps’ shadow.

Of course, in an ideal world, you have one world class goalkeeper that can do it all and a passable back up and you probably accept that the back up goalkeeper position will have a lot of turnover, much in the same way that if you see the same person serving you at the till of McDonalds too often, you are probably eating too much McDonalds.