Manuel Almunia

Manuel Rivero Almunia (born May 19, 1977 in Pamplona) is a Spain football (soccer) player who currently plays for English Premier League club Arsenal F.C. as a Goalkeeper (football).

Club career

Early career

Manuel made his professional debut with Spanish side Recreativo de Huelva. He then joined Celta de Vigo, where he spent nearly a year without making a first team appearance, before moving to Albacete Balompié on a loan deal on November 1 2003, forging his way quickly into the first team squad and making 24 league appearances.

Arsenal

He was signed for Arsenal F.C. for an undisclosed fee on July 14, 2004. He made his debut in a 2-1 Football League Cup win over Manchester City F.C. on October 27, 2004. He played in all the Gunners' League Cup matches that season, including the quarter-final against Manchester United F.C. on December 1 2004; Almunia fumbled a save from David Bellion after 19 seconds, gifting him the only goal of the game.

Despite his occasional mistakes, Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger has not given up faith in the keeper, and he has since played in some important matches for Arsenal when Jens Lehmann was not available. He is usually selected as Arsenal's goalkeeper for Cup matches, where he has been able to show his penalty-stopping abilities. This includes a win over Sheffield United F.C. in the 2004-05 in English football FA Cup, where Almunia made two saves in a penalty shootout (football) after the game finished 0-0, to take the Gunners through to the quarter-finals. Another successful shootout win with Almunia in goal came at Doncaster Rovers F.C. in the Football League Cup in 2005-06 in English football. Unfortunately his goalkeeping prowess or lack of, led fans to nickname him 'Fawlty Manuel', in homage to the clumsy Spanish waiter Manuel on the British comedy programme Fawlty Towers.

In the 2006 UEFA Champions League final against FC Barcelona, Almunia started on the bench but came on as a substitute after Jens Lehmann was sent off. Almunia made a crucial save early on, tipping Samuel Eto'o's shot onto a post. However, Almunia could not keep Barcelona at bay; late in the second half, Eto'o was put clean through and beat Almunia at his near post with the equaliser, and with 10 minutes left Juliano Belletti poked the ball through Almunia's legs to score the winner.

Almunia was a permanent fixture of Arsenal's 2006/7 FA Cup and League Cup runs, playing in the final of the latter as well as the memorable 6-3 defeat of Liverpool at Anfield. In his only league appaearance that year, deputising for an ill Jens Lehmann at home to Liverpool, he kept a clean sheet. Overall, he seemed much improved from previous outings. After Jens Lehmann's multiple injuries at the start of the 2007/8 season, Almunia has once more found himself deputising for Lehmann in the league.

International career

In September 2006 he revealed that should he not be selected for the Spain national football team, in 2008 he would be eligible for British citizenship and would play for England national football team if selected. He quoted, "If someone wants me, I do not care about the nationality."

Honours

With Arsenal F.C.

- FA Cup 2005
- UEFA Champions League runner-up 2005/06
- Football League Cup runner-up 2006/07
- Emirates Cup Winner 2007
- Amsterdam Tournament Winner 2005 in football, 2007 in football