With Arsenal’s interest in Aaron Ramsdale waning every passing day, Lee Ryder of the Chronicle linked Freddie Woodman with Arsenal. The Newcastle goalkeeper was on loan last season at Swansea City where he made a name for himself last season, winning the Championship golden glove with his side losing the playoff final to Brentford. I look at his performance vs Norwich & see whether he should join Arsenal as their new #1.5.
Shot stopping:
Freddie Woodman is tested at close range by the Norwich attacker, with his view being partially obstructed because of the Swansea players’ positioning. Over here, he’s still able to get a strong command of the box & collect the ball without taking any unnecessary risks.
This was the first save Freddie Woodman had made in the game, with the player always being ready to react to shots on goal (even if it happens at a time when most keepers would switch off as they’re not engaged in the game.)
Post-Boxing day, Arsenal have faced a decreasing number of shots on goal, with their mistakes occur because their goalkeeper isn’t ready to react in the rare instances where the ball flies into their path. Woodman has shown that he can handle the pressure of making fewer saves, but every save having greater importance on the game state.
At the end of the game, Woodman is called into action again, with a routine save, this time with the ball coming in from the right-hand side He gets a strong hand onto it, preferring to catch the ball instead of parrying it out onto dangerous zones for his defenders to react to.
There are some differences in how Woodman & Leno address shot-stopping situations.
1. Leno avoids staying on his line, he chases the ball when it reaches the box, Woodman is more composed & reacts situationally.
2. Woodman prefers to catch the ball, Leno prefers to parry it out.
Short Passing:
Looking at where Woodman plays his passes & where he fails, it’s clear that he’s great at short passing. He’s never going to lose the ball when he plays it to someone close to him but when he plays it long (to the Swansea RW,) the ball will be contested with more intensity.
Woodman is the opposite of Emi Martinez & Bernd Leno in the areas where he’s comfortable playing the ball. Leno and Emi prefer to play the ball out to the left-hand side, & have done so in their Arsenal stints.
His stylistic preference may be altered so he learns to play the ball on the LHS as well as the RHS, or Arsenal can become a right-side heavy team when he plays, which would benefit the Arsenal RB, RCM, and RW.
Woodman’s good at circulating the ball when he’s given a moment more to make a decision. Norwich were poor in getting men to press the 3 Swansea defenders & it gave the keeper more than enough time to make a good passing decision.
This is a routine pass, but the conviction in which Woodman was able to get the ball out & start the attack shows his team’s trust in his distribution, which is what Arsenal currently lacks in their goalkeeping options.
This is a simple pass played under lots of pressure by Woodman. When Swansea were in a stage of instability when they were on the ball, Pukki pressed well to get within inches of the ball but Woodman was able to evade the player & the direction in which the ball was going by maintaining his cool & sweeping it to the free man.
The goalkeeper has the best view of the game, he can see everything that’s going on & react the way they best see fit, but it’s also the role with the most pressure in the game. When Bernd Leno receives the ball under pressure he doesn’t effectively scan to see where his passing options are outside of the box which leads to Arsenal conceding goals because of mistakes in the buildup.
On the other hand, Woodman will scan the area before he receives the ball & plays the pass where he best sees fit because he intends to start an attack in every pass he makes, not stop the attack in every pass he makes.
Long Passing:
When a backpass from the Swansea defender goes astray, Teemu Pukki presses to win the ball back & try to score as quickly as possible. Freddie Woodman being assured in his pass selection & the location of his target means that Pukki doesn’t get a touch of the ball, Woodman smashes the ball out to the RW & Swansea start their own attack after being under trouble for a bit.
Arsenal needs a goalkeeper that can get their team back on the front foot after they’ve been under pressure from a pressing side, as was the case vs Brentford on Friday. Freddie Woodman gives Arsenal that option they need & he has a great passing range to back it all up.
Woodman’s long passing is 1 dimensional in the sides it ends up at (as is the case with most GK’s,) & when he hits it to his preferred side, it will almost always end up with who he intends for it to go to.
The consistency & quality of his long balls means that the opposition attackers will almost always be taken out of the game as they’ll make the mistake of pressing too high (which allows the RB too much space,) or too wide (which gives the RB the option to drop centrally.)
My only worry with Woodman’s passing is his right side bias, I’m not sure as to whether it’ll strengthen the right side by putting more onus on them, weaken the left side by getting the ball to them less, or if he’ll pick up on left-sided passing over time.
Positioning:
When Norwich carved out half-chances in the six-yard box, Woodman’s instinct was to always have the near-post covered & get the opposing attacker to try & get a shot on the outside of the goal. That always ends in a missed chance as either the opposition is pressed well by the Swansea CB or they can’t get their technique right to get an accurate shot on goal.
Freddie Woodman does need to improve his positioning, as he lacks assertiveness when he commits himself to the near-post, but that’s something that can improve during training if he’s tasked with defending 1v1’s from the left & right-hand side often.
When Norwich are settled in the Swansea City final third, Woodman always engages with the direction of where the ball is being played, he doesn’t shut himself off. Mentally, this is something big as there is a tendency for most goalkeepers to be engaged only when the ball is in the box, as opposed to keeping themselves alert when the opposition could get themselves on the front foot.
General Notes:
Freddie Woodman does well when he plays for a team with a set of defenders that like to drop deep enough to receive the ball effectively. His distribution is somewhat strong, with the player not delaying how long he dwells on the ball for, maintaining a good amount of speed in his team’s attacks.
He’ll need to adapt to a different ballgame if he were to join Arsenal, passing to the left-hand side a lot more (where Tierney can help ball progression, as opposed to the RB/RW.)
Last Thoughts:
Woodman is who Arsenal can bring in as their #1.5, not their #1 option yet but someone to displace Bernd Leno at some point over the next few months if they raise their level enough.
He’s suited to how Arsenal play, with experience in a side with a 3-1/3-2 buildup structure, & heavily pressed by the opposition when they’re on the ball.