David Ospina admits he needs to take every chance he gets after starring in Arsenal's draw with Paris Saint-Germain
The Colombian will be Arsenal's first-choice goalkeeper in the Champions League this season
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David Ospina has admitted he must work hard for every chance his gets in the Arsenal first team after his man of the match performance against Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League.
Arsene Wenger opted to start with the Colombian in the competition ahead of Petr Cech last season but replaced him with Cech after some costly errors and strong criticism from the press and social media.
However, when the team-sheets came out it became apparent Wenger had reverted back to this rotation only this time he was justified as Ospina denied the PSG attack on several occasions.
Ospina revealed Wenger had only made the call to play him on the morning of the game and stressed how he always needed to be ready to fight for a starting place.
“We as a team take every opportunity, we work hard for that,” said Ospina.
“For me, I need to work hard and be ready for every chance when I get to play.
“For us it was the biggest match of the group to play against Paris Saint-Germain, although of course we respect all the other teams in the group.
“It is a good draw and we can build on that but there’s a long way to go.”
Arsenal were outplayed on the night and were fortunate to come away with a point after some wasteful finishing from PSG forward Edinson Cavani to add to Ospina’s inspired display.
Wenger was highly complementary of his second-choice goalkeeper after the game, describing the former Nice man as ‘world class’ before confirming he would continue to be start games in the Champions League.
“We have a rule that the keepers know,” Wenger said. “It's important to have clear rules like that.
“They know what the rules are for the season. If they change, I will tell them. It's down to performances.
“On what he delivered tonight, he has the right to stay in the team for the next Champions League game.
“I have two world-class goalkeepers. I can give them both games. If they do not play, you can't keep two world-class goalkeepers.”
“Ospina played very well. Tonight he showed his detractors that he is a very good goalkeeper, those who doubted him.
“Last year he made a mistake in the Champions League and everyone jumped all over him. He showed what he's about tonight, at decisive moments, when he could have conceded a penalty, or when he came out with a good header at the start of the second half.”
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