While there's still debate about who will keep goal in the FA Cup final this season, Arsenal's No. 1, Wojciech Szczesny, can put this season down as one in which he's performed well and made good progress.
The heavy defeats away to Man City, Liverpool and Chelsea have skewed the way people think about his performances. When a goalkeeper lets in six, five and six in fixtures against the top teams, questions do have to be asked. But if one of those questions is 'Why did Arsenal concede so many goals', the answer is not Wojciech Szczesny.
On those days he wasn't helped by abject defending from the players in front of him. Perhaps he could have done better with one or two, but that's true of most keepers over the course of a season. On those days Arsenal were tactically and defensively naive, and that left Szczesny exposed.
The irony is that the Gunners’ presence at the top of the Premier League table was based more on the parsimony of their defence than the fluency of their attack. This new-found solidity was roundly acknowledged, but damaged considerably by what happened in those disastrous away performances.
Still, when you look at the fact Szczesny needs another clean sheet on Sunday against Norwich to take his total to the season to 17 (one better than Petr Cech with whom he is level at the moment), that gives you a better idea of how he's performed over the course of the campaign.
Since winning his place back after being unceremoniously dropped by Arsene Wenger last season, we've seen a focused and much more professional player. He's improved both his shot stopping and his distribution, and as he showed recently against Hull he's a goalkeeper who can now command his area with authority.
On the day Arsenal ran out 3-0 winners, but in the first 25 minutes found themselves under intense pressure from the home side. As well as making a brilliant save from Nikola Jelavic to keep the score at 0-0, he provided assurance to his team with a series of catches and punches as Steve Bruce's side put in crosses and corner to test the Arsenal defence.
There have been some genuinely world-class moments this season forgotten because of the focus on the goals conceded. Think of the brilliant double stop at Craven Cottage; a direction changing save to deny Spurs at home; Mile Jedinak at Selhurst Park; or Robin van Persie at the Emirates just after Arsenal had been beaten at Anfield. See this compilation for more (as always, it's best watched with the sound down).
There is a reason why he plays in the Premier League every week, and the Champions League too. He's the best goalkeeper Arsenal have, so while some sentiment comes into play over the FA Cup final -- which is to take nothing away from how well Lukasz Fabianski has performed -- the progress Szczesny has made this season should be hugely encouraging to Arsenal fans ahead of next season.