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Arsenal To Sign Real Madrid Legend For FREE?

By on June 21, 2014

Arsenal could sign Real Madrid goalkeeper Iker Casillas for FREE next summer, according to reports from Spain.

Casillas has been linked with a move to the Emirates over the past year after losing his place in the Real Madrid first team, and with Arsene Wenger on the look out for an experienced keeper to challenge Wojciech Szczesny, the Spaniard’s name has cropped up again this summer.

However, it looks like we might have to wait if we do want to bring him to the Emirates as Spanish paper AS are reporting that Casillas has reached an agreement with Real supremo Florentino Perez that will see him remain at the Bernabeu for another season, before being allowed to leave on a free transfer in 2015.

So the question is; is Casillas worth waiting for? On the one hand, you’d probably think it would be a no-brainer to sign Iker Casillas on a free transfer. Even if you have to wait 12 months to do it.

However, the 33-year-old stopper has probably endured the worst 12-18 months of his life. Not only has he lose his first team place at his beloved Real Madrid, only featuring in the clubs Champions League games last season, he also played a major role in seeing Spain crash out of the World Cup following a string of errors.

The players demise has shocked many, not least because he’s widely regarded as the best goalkeeper of his generation, but serious doubts must be had over whether he’ll be able to reach those heights again.

The errors at the World Cup have been school-boy at best but the key factor has to be a lack of confidence. The lad simply hasn’t been playing enough football and clearly hasn’t had the backing from his last 2 Real Madrid managers, so it’s going to have taken a tole on his confidence between the sticks.

A player of Casillas’ class just doesn’t lose that ability over night, so I’d bet anything he’d get back to his best if he was restored as first choice. But the problem is if we’ve got to wait a year before potentially signing him, he might have sat on the bench for another year, be even less confident than he already is, and most importantly, what do we do in the meantime?

Is Arsene going to find a short-term stop-gap to support Szczesny for a year and wait for Casillas? It would be extremely risky. So for that reason, I think it’s best we forget about the Spaniard and bring in an alternative this summer who will be able to push Szczesny for the No.1 jersey.

The likes of Marshall from Cardiff or Ruddy from Norwich would be excellent options, and should be available for around £6-£8m this summer, so I’d happily see either of those come to the club this summer.

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