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RAB DOUGLAS: Changing goalkeepers during a game has greater risks than rewards

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta could be about to go where other managers fear to tread.

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta.
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta could be about to make a bold goalkeeping decision. Image: PA.

A penny for the thoughts of the Arsenal goalkeeping coach this week.

I’d be very surprised if he’s on board with Mikel Arteta’s plan to substitute number ones in the middle of a game.

You’d probably expect me to say this – but I think it’s a terrible idea.

Like it or not, goalkeeper is a specialised position. Always has been, always will be.

To think along similar lines as you would in replacing an outfield player who is under-performing just doesn’t stack up.

Reason number one is – you can’t get a goalie to warm-up as effectively during a game as you can with the other substitutes.

And then it comes to the psychological aspect.

The fact is – a goalie who is subbed in the middle of the match for football reasons will feel humiliated.

Can you imagine the sledging he’ll get at future games – from the terraces and on the pitch.

That will take more than an arm around the shoulder from his manager to sort out.

And that’s from the perspective of the goalie taken off.

For the one going on, the pressure will be enormous.

Think about the expectation on one who is sent on for a penalty shoot-out and then multiply it by 10.

Tactically, it will show the opposition that Arsenal are looking to hold onto a lead.

They’ll take encouragement from that.

The risks completely outweigh the rewards.

Arteta might well have painted himself into a corner now.

By going public with his regret about not doing it already, he may well feel he has to follow this through and make the big change in a game that really matters.

There’s always room for innovation in football.

The way goalies can help a team with their distribution these days is one of the biggest ones.

Specialist throw-in coaches at the big clubs is another.

Arteta will probably believe that to catch and overtake his old mentor, Pep Guardiola, he’ll have to think outside the box.

I don’t even think rotating two number ones over the course of a season is a great idea – but doing it during a game would be a big error of judgment.


Half a step doesn’t usually result in a goal if it’s by an outfield player.

It’s a different story for a goalie, though.

It cost me in the Champions League when Del Piero stuck a free-kick past me at Celtic Park and it was the same for Joe Hart against Feyenoord.

Joe would have been disappointed he didn’t stop the opening goal.

Kyogo ducking was even more significant, though.

And Celtic paid the price for playing out at the wrong times.

For me, that’s the biggest lesson that needs to be learned before the next European game.


Things are definitely moving in the right direction at Gayfield.

That’s four wins in a row and 13 goals scored.

We always had a quiet confidence that our form would pick up and long may this run continue.

I’m certainly not going to have a go at Arbroath players who were with us last season and have since left.

But the secret of the upturn is quite simple – we’ve got a better squad and stronger options up front.

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