Edwin van der Sar had not long since left Manchester United when we spoke about blame and the art of goalkeeping, and his words sprang back to mind as Mikel Arteta triggered a new swirl of debate.
Van der Sar used the example of a goalkeeper defending a free-kick to illustrate his point. It went something like this.
Nobody is blaming the keeper if someone bends it over the wall and into the other side of the net. It’s a good free-kick, not a mistake, and credit goes to the taker, so concentrate on your side of the goal if you’re keen to avoid blame.
What if something tells you he’s going to curl it over the wall, though? Instinct, maybe, or research, the way the kicker addresses the ball.
‘It’s all a mental game,’ said Van der Sar. ‘Do I move another 10cm from the post because they have someone with a great curl? I might need those 10cm, otherwise I won’t make it. Or do I focus purely on myself because if the ball goes in that side, nobody will blame me?
‘Are you going to help your team? Or are you going to choose to help yourself? These are the decisions you have to make all the time.’
We were talking in the shadow of Robert Enke’s suicide in 2009, a tragic moment of awakening for mental health in football and for goalkeepers in particular.
Their craft has evolved beyond all recognition and yet they still stand alone in the role. One mistake spells big trouble, open to ridicule as Andre Onana was for four days at Manchester United between an error in Munich and a clean sheet in Burnley.
They are scrutinised more closely than ever by those sitting in judgment with a sophisticated array of data technology and a plethora of camera angles. So perhaps Arteta is on to something by trying to bring keepers into the safety of a crowd.
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