Lukasz Fabianski may have been in goal as Arsenal lifted the FA Cup, but the Polish international looks set to end his seven-year affiliation with the club. The 29-year-old has reportedly turned down the offer of a new deal with the Gunners, meaning he will leave on a free when his contract expires in the summer. It was hoped that Fabianski, who played in Arsenals cup games this season, would be persuaded to stay in North London following the clubs success and, in particular, his heroics during the FA Cup semi-final over Wigan. However, the prospect of first team football has clearly influenced him to leave. On-loan goalkeeper Emiliano Viviano will also be leaving Arsenal in the summer, after failing to make a single appearance for the club. It means that Arsene Wenger will be without two of his three goalkeepers from last season. Reinforcement is needed. Damian Martinez is expected to become the Gunners new third choice goalkeeper. The Argentine produced some solid performances while on loan at Sheffield Wednesday last season and at 21 has the potential to develop into a good goalkeeper. This leaves Wenger needing to fill the vacant back-up goalkeeper slot. It is an important role as the ideal candidate will need to be able to challenge Wojciech Szczesny for a starting spot, while also being content to potentially only play cup games.
Simon is an NCTJ qualified sports journalist. He has conducted interviews with Tony Adams and Peter Shilton, while also having work published in The Daily Telegraph and The Sun. Follow him on Twitter via @sr_collings.
