Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger still believes Manuel Almunia could represent England one day and declared: "He is the best."
Almunia joined the Gunners from Celta Vigo in July 2004, and so under residency laws would soon be eligible to apply to become a naturalised British citizen. Given the 31-year-old has yet to be called up into the Spain national team, there remains a genuine possibility Almunia would, under FIFA regulations, be available for selection to England coach Fabio Capello for the 2010 World Cup.
"There are international rules which have to be respected, but if it is possible legally, why not?" said Wenger. "Then it is more a choice left to the English Football Association or to Manuel Almunia's desire. I believe he is not only good enough, but he is the best."
The Gunners boss added: "It is down to what you expect morally and mentally from a national team.
"I believe at some stage you have to observe just the rules and decide what you want.
"On the English side, for the national team, it is not so much a problem because if the guy decides to become English, he has had to observe and respect the rules like anybody else.
"Why should he then not be qualified to play for the national team?
"It is more a moral problem maybe for Manuel Almunia, because does he consider he has a chance to play in the Spanish national team or not?"
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rubbish... this manuel is the same chap as the one in "faulty towers" he no spik
englisss how he handle da ball??????????????????
BEL pa zed
rubbish... this manuel is the same chap as the one in "faulty towers" he no spik
englisss how he handle da ball??????????????????
BEL pa zed
rubbish... this manuel is the same chap as the one in "faulty towers" he no spik
englisss how he handle da ball??????????????????
BEL pa zed
i'm not keen on Alumnia at all, but when you look back, it's not like English keepers haven't been given a chance. Robinson was once an excellent prospect, had plenty of chances in the national team, not to mention the number of years he's been playing in the top flight, but time and time again, he bottled it. James - another England keeper of past years who had plenty of chances but never came good. So the 'oldies' are defintely out - they had their chances and never made it. When you look at keepers that's still coming up, like Foster, Hart, Carson... I think they are all excellent prospects, but will they be ready for WC next year? I think Foster could do it, but he needs to be No. 1 for Man Utd first. Ferguson is nurturing him very well, and despite Man Utd's loss to Everton in FA cup semi, for which a lot of people blamed Ferguson's team selection, I think Ferguson has done a great service by letting Foster experience Carling Cup final and FA cup semi final. It's exactly these kinda matches that future England No. 1 should be getting under their belt before moving on to international stage. However, this is still not enough as he still needs to prove himself in the league week-in week-out. This really is the crux of the issue at hand - young English keepers that's getting regular 1st team football in league are playing for teams that's not reaching these big matches like Champions league/FA cup finals & etc, while keepers like Foster are getting valuable cup experiences but are still understudies to established foreign imports when you look at the season as a whole. Maybe in 2014 there will be luxury of being able to choose among decent English keepers, but by then Gerrard, Lamps, Rio could be gone. When you look at the current squad and their age, 2010 will really be England's best shot in a while, but there's this big gaping hole at the back. This problem can't be solved in the space of 1 year, a
England are hopelessly disadvantaged at present because they lack a world class English-born keeper. England also lack a world-class English-born coach. After the ignoble furore about Erickson and the disastrous outing of English-born McClaren, England swallowed her pride and hired the services of World class non-English born Capello. For the first time since Terry Venables, England now, finally, look like a viable competition at the world cup level. To resolve the GK crisis England may face when the REAL test comes post-qualification, It is time for the FA is to once-again swallow English pride and take advantage the quality that an ALMUNIA will have to offer. Spain and Portugal with clearly superior current international records than England, have not hesitated to use non-native talent in SENNA and DECO and to good effect. Besides, who does not know that the current run of success of English clubs at Euro and World-levels are due directly to its foreign player quota?
he,s not even the best at arsenal lol
he is great, i hope he play 4 ENGLAND in 2010 WC
I have nothing against Almunia I am an Arsenal Fan BUT Almunia is Spanish
Yes he is better than what we have but fast forward 10 yrs do we want an England team made up of players not born in England?
If you had told me 15 yrs ago by beloved Arsenal would field 11 none UK players i would have laughed
as if cassilas and reina are better? almunia proved what hes capable against the best (utd) its only that cassilas has been spains number 1 for a while and reina has established number 2, if almunia was to be given the chance in spain he would be number 1, but i hope he goes for england, he deserves it
hahaha, almunia is considering england cause he aint got a shot at the spain spot. casillas reina are way better than him. capello should consider the young guns coming up. Hart,Foster,even kirkland and green. The fact that these keepers are behind so so defenders affects thier fact sheets. Almunia is protected by a good defence more often than not. Now given is an awesome shot stopper. His time at newcastle is a tribute to that!
to comfor France, tent 3, by 3.14. Wrong! France and even less so Italy did not naturalise anyone to play them in their national team. They are people who have been born there or moved to France at a young age. Many of their players played for France in te under-21, including Zidane who was born and bread in France. Now name one Italian player who was selected 2 years after becoming Italian? People there are actually revolted with the idea that Amauri, the Juventus Club striker could be selected once his citizenship is approved. Relying on mercenaries gets you nowhere..
almunia IS englands number 1 and if u disagree u need to go to specsavers
foster is the perfect man for the future, almunia is the best at moment though, anyone who disagrees that almunia should play for england is either racist or stupid as once he has a british passport he can, does this mean he culd play for scotland wales or n ireland now that would be amusing,
@ AR WB,
did you even read through the articicle? or the title??? it says, England, as in the best English national. Obviously he is spanish, but when (if) he gets a british passport... he will probably be the best keeper for the national team.
AW is the best around, the good thing is that he doesnt read this stuff... but seriously, WTF???
Almunia the best keeper in the world?
Why not just go out and say Fabregas is awful, Adebayor isn't strong enough to cope with the PL, and Bendtner is the greatest striker of a football ever?
Good lord. I thought the man had sense.
Being an Arsenal supporter I would tend to agree that Almunia is better than the current batch of keeepers currently available to play for their country. This is a position that we have struggled to fill since the days of David Seman.
that what england should have done years ago 'nationalize foreigners' that what france and italy do to perform at internatnational levels
Ben Foster is much better
I think Almunia will be a better goalkeeper than Robinson, James and Green. U can see that during the clash at Old Trafford where he made 6 superb saves.
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