Arsenal goalkeeper David Ospina is set to leave Arsenal for Besiktas despite interest from Sevilla and Napoli.
David Ospina had to play second fiddle to Petr Cech last season. With Bernd Leno arriving at the club since Unai Emery’s appointment, Ospina’s chances of a starting berth look set to be even slimmer. The 29-year-old was utilised mainly as a cup keeper last season, making 21 appearances for the Gunners in total, with just five of those coming in the Premier League.
Leno joined the club from Bayer Leverkusen and while there are question marks over the future of Cech, it looks as if Ospina is the one who could be on his way out of the Emirates. Ospina’s agent revealed earlier this month that the custodian wanted to remain in Europe, amid interest from Boca Juniors.
Lucas Jaramillo said: “David has had an excellent World Cup, it has been very important for him, it is not a lie for anyone to say that he finds himself uncomfortable in Arsenal.
Besiktas have made a move for the goalkeeper, with Turkey the preferred destination of Ospina despite interest from Spanish side Sevilla and Italians Napoli.
Ospina began his career at Atlético Nacional, making his debut with the club in 2005. After achieving two domestic titles with Los Verdolagas, Ospina joined French side Nice. In 2014, he joined Arsenal on a four-year deal.
Ospina has been representing his country at a full international level since 2007. Upon his debut against Uruguay, he became the second-youngest goalkeeper to play for Colombia. He has since earned over 90 caps for his nation and has appeared at three Copa Américas and two World Cups.
Arsenal confirmed in 2014 that Ospina had signed for the club on for an undisclosed fee, believed to be £3 million, on a four-year deal. Through the club’s official Instagram account, Arsenal revealed that Ospina would wear the number 13 shirt for the club, last worn by loanee Emiliano Viviano. On 23 September 2014, Ospina made his debut for Arsenal in the League Cup match against Southampton, a 2–1 home defeat. He made his second Arsenal appearance on 1 October in their UEFA Champions League group stage match at home to Galatasaray, replacing Alexis Sánchez after starting goalkeeper Wojciech Szczęsny had been sent off for a professional foul on Burak Yılmaz. Ospina conceded the penalty, taken by its earner, but Arsenal won 4–1, making several vital saves in the process. Ospina resumed his cup duties in a 2–0 win against Hull City, but maintained his place for his full Premier League debut a week later, keeping a clean sheet in a 3–0 win against Stoke City. With first-choice goalkeeper Szczęsny punished for smoking in the dressing room after a game against Southampton, Ospina was made first choice in the league and went on to claim successive clean sheets against Manchester City and Aston Villa. He played every remaining league game until the end of the season, with the exception of FA Cup ties against Brighton & Hove Albion, Middlesbrough, Manchester United and Reading. Moreover, he was also an unused substitute in Arsenal’s 4–0 win in the 2015 FA Cup Final against Aston Villa. However, Ospina’s performances earned him a place on the FIFA Ballon d’Or longlist for the 2015 campaign.
During the summer transfer window period, Ospina was linked to Beşiktaş and Everton after Arsenal had signed Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Čech, which effectively demoted Ospina to second-choice ‘keeper. However, no deal materialised, as second choice goalkeeper Wojciech Szczęsny was loaned to Roma for the season. Ospina made his first appearance of the season in a 2–1 away defeat against Dinamo Zagreb in the 2015–16 Champions League, and as the team’s “cup goalkeeper,” he made his first domestic appearance in a 2–1 League Cup win over London rivals Tottenham Hotspur. Ospina made another Champions League appearance, against Olympiacos, where his poor performances proved costly in a 3–2 home defeat, with the ‘keeper conceding an own goal by dropping a corner from Kostas Fortounis into his own net’. Ospina would later be dropped from Champions League duties in place of Čech. Ospina suffered a shoulder injury during October’s international break that saw him ruled out until November. He was then in contention to face Sunderland in the FA Cup in January, but a training injury saw Čech take his place.
Ospina made his first start for Arsenal of the 2016–17 season in the club’s opening game in the UEFA Champions League Group-stage against French champions Paris Saint Germain, producing a man-of-the-match performance as Arsenal drew 1–1; Ospina himself drew praise for many saves made during the game, mainly against striker Edinson Cavani. Ospina started in the FA cup final where he conceded 1 goal as Arsenal won 2–1. Ospina made his first appearance of the season in a 1–0 win over Doncaster Rovers in the Carabao Cup. He made his second start in a 3–1 Europa League win against FC Cologne, committing an error that led to the team going 1–0 down early on. After Arsenal suffered four straight defeats Ospina kept a clean sheet as the Gunners beat AC Milan 0–2 in the San Siro Stadium in the Europa League round of 16 on 8 March