Re: Mannone Goes On Loan To.......
Posted: Tue Oct 26, 2010 6:07 pm
He was on the bench at weekend, Matt Duke played ahead of him.
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Vito Mannone is open to extending his stay with Championship outfit Hull City and is refusing to rule out a permanent transfer. Mannone is on loan to The Tigers until January and manager Nigel Pearson is keen to prolong the Italian’s stay.
The 22-year-old has made three appearances for Hull; keeping two clean sheets and making a selection of stunning saves. The switch came a matter of weeks after a damming interview in the foreign media, where Vito revealed his frustration at Arsène Wenger’s management of the club’s much talked about goalkeeper situation.
The criticism led to speculation that Mannone’s future is away from the Emirates. Hull could open up an escape route and in an interview with The Yorkshire Evening Post, he refused to rule it out.
“I don’t know what will happen. If the club is happy, and I’m happy, then we’ll sit down and make a decision.”
Vito went on to speak about his time at Arsenal; revealing a conversation he had with Wenger about his position.
“Wenger wanted me to play outfield. Sometimes I even train outfield to improve a little bit. I always liked to play outfield as well.”
“I played only one game outfield when I was five. I changed my mind and asked my dad if he could ask my manager to put me in goal. From that time I never came out of the sticks.”
Mannone will be keeping the gloves on, but whether he’ll be keeping goal for Arsenal in the future, it remains to be seen.
Mannone has had a fruitful time with Hull City, capping off what has been a fantastic spell with a penalty save from Reading’s Shane Long at the weekend. Vito has continued his 100% league record, having never been on the losing side with Arsenal or Hull. A selection of great stops and clean sheets have left The Tigers desperate to hang on to the Italian
Loan Review: Vito Mannone - Hull City
Vito joined Championship side Hull on a short-team deal in October and was initially expected to return to Arsenal in January.
The 22-year-old excelled at the KC Stadium and didn’t experience defeat in seven games before the deal was extended until the end of the season at the start of January.
He endured a two-month spell on the sidelines with a thigh injury but returned in April to help Hull to a 3-1 win over Doncaster, pulling off a series of vital saves. The goal Vito conceded in that victory was only the sixth time he had been beaten in over 13 hours of football.
Hull took 21 points from the ten games the Arsenal loanee featured in before a shoulder problem ended his season prematurely in April.
Nick Wood of the Hull Daily Mail:
“He came in January, has done exceptionally well ever since and he seems to have enjoyed it. I know, from speaking to him, that manager Nigel Pearson has been very impressed with him. Pearson said that Mannone was the first-choice goalkeeper when he was fit.
“Unfortunately, he got an injury and that led to Hull getting another loan goalkeeper, Brad Guzan from Aston Villa. Mannone then came back but suffered another injury. But the time he did play coincided with Hull’s resurgence in form and he would have been responsible for them getting to within touching distance of the play-offs.
“He commands his area very well, he is a good shot-stopper, his distribution is very good and he looked the part. With him behind the back four, Hull let in very few goals and, when he was in the team, they had their best run of form.
“Hull went on a record-breaking run of 17 away games without suffering defeat and he was very much a part of that. With him behind the back four they were extremely hard to beat in that period.
“Up until the end of April, Hull were a formidable side and looked like they were going to make the play-offs. They ran out of steam and that was without him in the team. If he had stayed in the team they probably would have had a better chance.”