By Joe Ellis

26th Oct, 2022 | 7:47am

View: Penalty-saving master Arthur Okonkwo shows Arsenal learning curve

Aaron Ramsdale is not the only Arsenal goalkeeper receiving heaps of praise right now as Arthur Okonkwo begins to excel on loan at Crewe.

The 21-year-old endured a tricky start to his vert first loan spell in the Football League and was even briefly replaced by Dave Richards at the Mornflake Stadium but he quickly regained his starting place under Alex Morris.

And the London-born giant, standing at six-foot-six, is repaying the League Two club’s faith in him with two penalty saves in one week to prevent defeats on both occasions.

Okonkwo denied Doncaster Rovers’ George Miller from 12 yards on Saturday (22 October) at Gresty Road and then repeated his heroics at Plough Lane against AFC Wimbledon to deny Josh Davison.

He has been far from the best goalkeeper in the fourth tier this season but Mikel Arteta and his fellow coaches at the Emirates Stadium have to look beyond the results and performances to some extent.

He was still very raw and perhaps naive when he was first sent to South Cheshire and that showed in his performances but with every mistake he makes, he learns from it and it does not reoccur again.

That is all Arsenal can really ask of him during his loan spell with the Railwaymen and these headline penalty saves will only serve to boost his confidence even more.

He has actually saved 67 per cent of the spot-kicks taken at him in League Two this season and that could always come in handy one day should a shootout be needed by the Gunners.

Okonkwo is still a country mile away from being close to the first team at The Emirates but the more he learns on loan, the better he will become and it is not out of the relam of possibility one day.

In other Arsenal news, it is the Gunners who are currently leading a hotly-contested race for this Scottish youngster in January.