Manuel Almunia was delighted with his FA Cup penalty shoot-out heroics.
Arsenal's Manuel Almunia has spoken of the importance of his performance against Sheffield United on Tuesday.The Spanish keeper was the hero for Arsene Wenger's side as he saved two penalty kicks and looked comfortable throughout the high-pressure shootout that ensued after a 0-0 stalemate.
The FA Cup fifth round win represented a change in fortunes for the 27-year-old as he had recently fallen out-of-favour at the North London side, with Jens Lehmann usurping his place in the side.
Now Almunia has expressed how the win was a vital one for himself and the team, and explained how playing for The Gunners added extra pressure onto a shot stopper.
Almunia has been criticised for his decision making at times, although believes that the high profile nature of the team magnifies any mistakes in comparison to other goalkeepers.
"Last night was important personally, it was a really good night for me and for Arsenal too," Almunia told the Evening Standard.
"It is always difficult playing a few games for Arsenal in The Premiership and then going out of the team.
"They are a really big club and maybe the little things look worse than if you played for someone else.
"If you make a mistake for Arsenal, maybe you pay for it more than if you played for Southampton or Norwich."
Almunia could well have played himself back into contention again with the midweek display, and is keen to feature as much as possible as Arsenal continue their campaign on three fronts.
"Everyone wants to be playing five games every month because that would mean we are doing very well and in all the competitions, I would play every three days if it was possible."
