Seaman urges Wenger to capture keeper

The ex-England keeper wants Wenger to bring in either Fulham's Mark Schwarzer or Shay Given of Manchester City, as doubts remain over the form of current custodian's Lukasz Fabianski and Manuel Almunia.

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Wenger is believed to have had at least one bid for Schwarzer rejected by the Cottagers in recent weeks and is now considering turning his attentions to Given, following the Irishman's omission from the team that played Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League opener last weekend.

And either keeper would get Seaman's blessing.

"Lukasz Fabianski has a great future, but I think Arsenal need to look at bringing in a keeper who's going to calm the defence down and be consistent," Seaman told talkSPORT.co.uk.

"Neither keeper [Almunia or Fabianski] ended last season very well so the speculation to going to be there and if the likes of Schwarzer and Given are available, then I think Arsene Wenger has to be looking at them."

Given, 34, was overlooked by Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini at the weekend and had to watch from the substitutes' bench as Joe Hart excelled in his absence at White Hart Lane.

But Schwarzer, who failed to make Fulham's squad at the weekend, remains Wenger's number one target.

The Gunners have had a £2 million bid rejected by new Fulham boss Mark Hughes, who is thought to want a replacement before letting Schwarzer leave for Arsenal.

However, Wenger is reportedly keen to test Hughes' resolve again by upping his offer to around £3 million before the end of the month.

By James Martini

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Gregg Davies

Gregg Davies is the Chief Sub Editor of FourFourTwo magazine, joining the team in January 2008 and spending seven years working on the website. He supports non-league behemoths Hereford and commentates on Bulls matches for Radio Hereford FC. His passions include chocolate hobnobs and attempting to shoehorn Ronnie Radford into any office conversation.