David Ospina believes he showed his worth after man of the match display helps Arsenal to draw with PSG

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James Benge14 September 2016

David Ospina has vowed to continue proving himself to Arsene Wenger after his man-of-the-match display in Tuesday’s 1-1 draw with Paris St Germain.

Wenger’s decision to rest Cech in favour of Ospina was greeted with dismay before kick-off, with Arsenal fans needing little reminder of the calamitous own goal from the Colombian that handed Olympiacos a Champions League victory at the Emirates a year ago.

But a defiant display from Ospina, who denied Serge Aurier, Edinson Cavani and Angel di Maria in the space of four second-half minutes, helped keep Arsenal in the contest before Alexis Sanchez’s 78th minute equaliser.

Despite his heroics in the Parc des Princes the 28-year-old is likely to be confined to the role of Arsenal’s cup specialist, with Petr Cech expected to return to the starting lineup for Saturday’s trip to Hull. However Ospina will continue his fight to convince Wenger he deserves more game time.

“We as a team take every opportunity, we work hard for that,” said Ospina. “This was a good match to show what I can do.

“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.”

Wenger himself has made clear that his faith in Ospina has never wavered, describing the goalkeeper as “world-class” before kick-off in Paris. And the Arsenal manager was proud to be vindicated by the Colombian’s rearguard action.

“On what he delivered tonight, he has the right to stay in the team for the next Champions League game,” Wenger said in his post-match press conference.

“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.”

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