EXCLUSIVE

David Ospina is ready to quit Arsenal at the end of the season. The 27-year-old goalkeeper has made just four appearances for the Gunners this season after having his first-team opportunities restricted by the £10million arrival of Petr Cech from Chelsea last summer.

Ospina has played the same number of matches for Colombia as he has at club level and the situation has led to mounting frustration at a lack of game time.

Gunners boss Arsene Wenger remains a big admirer of Ospina and is set to start him in Saturday’s FA Cup fifth- round clash against Hull at Emirates Stadium. But Standard Sport understands Ospina feels he is at a place in his career where he should be playing regularly and that his performances for the club last season prove he is capable of performing at the highest level.

Ospina is credited with helping instigate a turnaround in fortunes at the beginning of last year which saw Arsenal go on to pick up more Premier League points than any other team.

He was drafted into the side after Wojciech Szczesny compounded an error-strewn New Year’s Day defeat at Southampton by being caught smoking in the showers afterwards and subsequently kept 10 clean sheets in 24 matches from that point onwards.

But Cech’s presence has stunted Ospina’s progress. Wenger faces a huge fight to keep him next season, especially after claiming that Cech could stay at the club for the next five years, but he is desperate to avoid losing Ospina while mindful of the tough position he is now in.

“It was a very, very difficult decision for me [to sign Cech] because I rate Ospina highly,” said Wenger last month. “Ospina is a keeper who, in my opinion, is underrated, especially in England. But [signing Cech] was maybe one of the few opportunities to say, ‘Okay, this is an obvious [transfer].’ It was more to say, ‘If I don’t do this, it would have been a mistake.’”

In his few rare outings this season, Ospina’s form has understandably dipped — he most notably attracted criticism for dropping a corner into his own net during September’s 3-2 Champions League defeat at home to Olympiacos.

Nevertheless, Ospina has caught the attention of a number of clubs including Getafe, Besiktas, Genoa and Palermo but it is believed he would be open to staying in England. Arsenal are likely to demand a fee in the region of £5million for him.

Wenger could be set for a difficult summer in the goalkeeping department although Szczesny’s Arsenal future is less clear.

The 25-year-old is on a season-long loan at Roma and has been the club’s first-choice goalkeeper, making 28 appearances to mixed reviews.

He was part of the team that lost 2-0 at home to Real Madrid in their Champions League last 16, first-leg clash last night but it is believed he is open to spending next season in Italy before coming back to fight with Cech for the No1 spot at Arsenal.

However, given Wenger’s claim that Cech could play on for several years, Szczesny may have a decision to make over how long he will wait.

Wenger could therefore be forced into the transfer market if he cannot keep both Ospina and Szczesny beyond the end of the season, although it is understood that Emiliano Martinez is highly thought of and could be brought back into the first team squad if necessary. The 23-year-old is currently on loan at Wolves.

