The fact that Arsenal are looking for a new goalkeeper seems quite obvious. The Gunners have had at least four or five major names linked to the position, but none seem as plausible as the one that predicts Stoke’s Asmir Begović is moving to North London. Dailymail.co.uk reveals that the 25 year old is valued at about £15 million and that he looks ready to make the step to a larger team that has bigger goals set for its players every year. Although Wenger’s initial wish-list included names such as Valdes, Reina, Cech or even most recently Iker Casillas, Begovic is probably the most “gettable” out of these goalkeepers. The others are not in the transfer budget limits which Wenger usually operates within.
Begovic has been playing in the Premier League since 2005 and will most likely look to move to a team that is based in the UK. All of Arsenal’s other major adversaries have the goalkeeper position secured and will not be looking to make any transfers to fill that particular spot. The Gunners are the only ones that are considered a top 5 Premier League team and need to find a better goalie.
Wenger has targeted the 25 year old Bosnian since this January, but Stoke had no intention of leaving one of their best players join another team during the middle of the season. They will probably wait until the end of the season to see if the right offer comes along. The chances of them letting Begovic go are pretty high considering Jack Butland is going to return from his loan to Birmingham. According to rumors Stoke are not willing to let their goalkeeper go for less than £15 million, which would be a lot for Arsenal even with their newly declared transfer budget.
If Arsenal sign the Bosnian, he would definitely be an improvement for the Gunners with his superior shot-stopping ability and excellent positional and organizational sense. If Begovic decides to look another way, chances are he will not have the same opportunities as he would if he transferred to the Emirates Stadium.
Should Wenger sign Begovic if he can and would Begovic be a big improvement over the current options?