There have been many rumors about Arsenal going after/possibly signing Andre Onana with some Dutch news outlets claiming It’s a done deal barring some final details (the outcome of his court case with CAS and his medical,) so I take a look at whether Arsenal should sign him or not and I explain why he is a good #1 goalkeeping option for Arsenal.
Shot stopping:
Onana is capable of dropping down quickly to save shots, with this being down to his sharp reflexes, and he rarely makes reflex-based errors unless he is mentally switched off. His dominant ‘goalkeeping’ side is his left-hand side from what I’ve seen, and for teams to get one over him, they have to create higher quality chances (being close to goal with minimal defenders blocking the ball.)
In a way, he’s similar to Bernd Leno. They’re both (generally) good at saving shots that come close to them (but Leno has regressed in that lately) and their reflexes are amongst the best in world football.
This is taken from his dominant left-hand side, but the shot also comes in from his left (near post finishes tend to be harder for a goalkeeper to save.) He gets across well and gets down without a fuss, whilst positioning himself in line with the attacking side as most goalkeepers do.
Arsenal hasn’t had any issues with their goalkeepers conceding near post shots (unless it’s Almunia,) so Onana not easily being beaten near post allows for Arsenal to continue this trend. The only worrisome matter is whether Onana can deal with near post finishes from closer to goal rather than from a further away angle.
At the end of the game, Ajax faced an out-swinging corner from Feyenoord – Onana stayed back and completed a routine save.
1. Onana staying back once he realized he couldn’t get to the corner displays his ‘maturity’ in such situations (Leno has a tendency to fight for every corner.)
2. He sets up his defence so he can occupy his preferred space (left-hand side) with 2 defenders occupying the right side of the goal to make a goal difficult to score.
They’re minor events, but as he gets on the right end of fine decision making, his shot-stopping is something that shouldn’t worry the skeptics too much.
Passing:
Onana has gained a reputation for his distribution, and this shows why. He has a love for passing to the left touchline or straight down the middle. His success rate isn’t good, but it led to Ajax winning a lot of second balls as the opponents were stretched out or their CM’s/CB’s were crowded out by the Ajax central players.
Arsenal need a goalkeeper that can stretch play on both sides and help cause chaos near to the middle of the pitch, which Onana does. Leno is limited in where he can/wants to pass, which leads to the Arsenal RW being isolated for long periods of time as a result, Onana doesn’t offer that weakness in a goal kick/keeper-led passage of play.
Under pressure, Onana is able to progress the ball to bait the opposing CF to commit himself to the keeper and he can leave enough space to allow him to get the pass out to any of the 3 Ajax players ready to receive the ball. As he isn’t limited in where he can pass, he plays through the Feyenoord CF and plays it to the central option.
When comparing him to Mat Ryan and Bernd Leno, Onana’s superiority in building play is evident. His pass selection puts the receiver under minimal pressure (compare it to Leno-Xhaka vs Burnley,) and the weight of his ball means the receiver can turn quickly and progress play instead of stalling play.
This situation is impressive down to Onana’s press baiting and subsequent pass selection. As a 4v4 situation is created by the 2 Feyenoord links in front and behind the Ajax defenders, Onana’s visible options are to pass it to Tagliafico (the LB) or to the CB next to him. Instead, he baits the 4 Feyenoord players to get as close as they can to him and he successfully switches play to the Ajax RW settled on the touchline.
Arsenal gets themselves locked in positions where they have to play the ball long aimlessly, especially in the first half of the 3-3 draw with West Ham a few months back. Onana knowing where to get the ball under pressure will give Arsenal more control in games as they’ll have a plan to get themselves out of trouble now.
One thing I lookout for a goalkeeper when they’re distributing is how often they take risks when passing the ball. Here, he waits for the opposing CF to get into his box before committing himself to any pass, the positive of this is he can select his pass knowing what the receiver will do.
Leno’s passing over short distances has been a cause for concern, especially with Arsenal losing games because of minor passing errors made by Leno. An assured keeper (like Onana) minimizes the amount of mistakes made from playing out from the back, and it will lead to Arsenal being on the right end of fine margins more often than not.
Defending Corners:
Cross-Collection is a vital skill for a Goalkeeper to have when defending corners, and it’s one place where Onana excels at. He sniffs out impending danger from the corner and he wins the ball assertively, whilst (generally) catching the ball to reduce the risk of the opposition getting a shot on goal on an empty net.
Onana’s defensive organization at its best is shown in this situation as well, he positions his defenders to prevent himself from being obstructed and he makes it hard for teams to exploit any blindspots as there aren’t many with him in goal. He collects the ball in an assured manner, which gives his team the mental edge when it comes to corners, something Arsenal miss from the days of Emi Martinez.
Andre Onana’s decision-making when defending corners is one aspect of his game that I’ve started to appreciate the more I watch him. He notices that the delivery is an out swinging one and he’d leave the goal vacant for too long if he pursued it, so he stayed back and played it safe, leading to a save from his end.
There’s nothing special about the decision he made, but when you compare what he did there to what Bernd Leno or Maty Ryan do in similar situations (fight for every ball in a corner,) It’s clear why he’s better at corners than Arsenal’s current goalkeeping options.
Positioning:
Andre Onana isn’t mentally turned off as much as he used to be in the CL ties back in 2018/19, and as a result, his positioning has been solid for Ajax recently. He positions himself in the direction of the ball, and he is rarely too close to the goal, which would make it harder for his side to play out from the back after winning the ball.
Off-the-ball positioning is the bare minimum for a goalkeeper to do well at, but Onana having good off-the-ball positioning means we don’t have to worry about seeing an erratic goalkeeper that will cost Arsenal points consistently when he joins the club.
General Notes:
Andre Onana is a strong goalkeeper that can do everything required of a top-level goalkeeper. His positioning in different situations means he’s less liable to mistakes than Bernd Leno. He doesn’t constantly rush out of goal during corners which would cut mistakes down for Arsenal a lot, and his distribution is amongst the best in the world.
He isn’t perfect though, like all goalkeepers, he has a mistake in him that can be avoided by a top-level defence and structure (which Arsenal nearly have.) He also is somewhat liable to mistakes, not on the ball but through misjudging the situation (whether the opposing player is offside or not.)
Last Thoughts:
Andre Onana would be a great signing for Arsenal as he is everything they need in a goalkeeper (tall, fast, good on the ball, and can stop shots quite well,) but there will be doubts over whether he is ‘ready’ for Arsenal by the time his doping ban is done in October or February. He is risk-worthy if Arsenal can use the money they save on a GK on good complementary players.