Manuel is Fab for Three Lions

EX Arsenal legend Martin Keown reckons Arsenal's Manuel Almunia could be the answer to Fabio Capello’s goalkeeping problems.
Keown, who won 43 caps for England told THE SUN newspaper, he would have no problem with the Spaniard pulling on our No1 shirt when he becomes eligible for British citizenship later this year.
The tough-tackling ex-defender said: “Without doubt Manuel Almunia is an outstanding goalkeeper and he would raise the bar if he came into the England set-up.
“He’s on a par, if not better, than the goalkeepers that are there at the moment.”
England’s current No1 Paul Robinson has come in for stinging criticism following a string of errors, while Scott Carson and David James have also blundered at the top level.
Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has already urged Capello to take advantage of the residency ruling and make 30-year-old Almunia England’s first-choice stopper.
And the man himself has refused to rule out the possibility of playing for the Three Lions, saying: “England has been very good to me.
"I have to be here one more year to qualify so we will have to wait and see what happens.”
Keown believes the FA should be happy to recognise Almunia as a naturalised Englishman.
He added: “If you’re asking whether it’s morally right, well the national team has a foreign manager and this type of thing already goes on in other sports like cricket and rugby.
"So I’m not dead against him playing for England when he becomes eligible.
“At the moment the talk is a bit premature — he’s been outstanding for Arsenal but he’s only just wrestled the first-team jersey away from Jens Lehmann.
“But if the opportunity came up for him to play for England, I’d not have a problem with that. Spain don’t seem to want him so their loss would be our gain.”

ARSENAL legend Martin Keown reckons Manuel Almunia is the answer to Fabio Capello’s goalkeeping problems.
Keown, who won 43 caps for England, would have no problem with the Spaniard pulling on our No1 shirt when he becomes eligible for British citizenship later this year.
The tough-tackling ex-defender said: “Without doubt Manuel Almunia is an outstanding goalkeeper and he would raise the bar if he came into the England set-up.
“He’s on a par, if not better, than the goalkeepers that are there at the moment.”
England’s current No1 Paul Robinson has come in for stinging criticism following a string of errors, while Scott Carson and David James have also blundered at the top level.
Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has already urged Capello to take advantage of the residency ruling and make 30-year-old Almunia England’s first-choice stopper.
And the man himself has refused to rule out the possibility of playing for the Three Lions, saying: “England has been very good to me.
"I have to be here one more year to qualify so we will have to wait and see what happens.”
Keown believes the FA should be happy to recognise Almunia as a naturalised Englishman.
He added: “If you’re asking whether it’s morally right, well the national team has a foreign manager and this type of thing already goes on in other sports like cricket and rugby.
"So I’m not dead against him playing for England when he becomes eligible.
“At the moment the talk is a bit premature — he’s been outstanding for Arsenal but he’s only just wrestled the first-team jersey away from Jens Lehmann.
“But if the opportunity came up for him to play for England, I’d not have a problem with that. Spain don’t seem to want him so their loss would be our gain.”

Manuel Almunia wears Nike Mercurial Vapor Grip III now available online to buy at great-save.com

Source www.thesun.co.uk